Haruhi no Kuusuu
by xKuroHinotex
Summary: At a masquerade hosted by the Host Club, Haruhi dances with someone that sweeps her off her feet...but which of the Host Club members is it? Romance, with a touch of angst, and my attempt at humor. Haru x a mystery! Read, you won't be disappointed.:D
1. Cinderella

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, nor the original plot, nor the scene—but I DO own what I've written, so please do not steal.**

**Translations ((refer to when odd Japanese words come up)):**

**Hai:**yes

**Baka:** stupid/idiot 

**Gomenasai:** I'm sorry

**Yamete:** stop

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**Haruhi no Kuusuu.**

**[Haruhi's Fantasy.)**

_**x.x.x.x.x.l-Part l-l.x.x.x.x.x**_

_**Masked Feelings**_

Chapter 1.

**Moments Before the Masquerade Ball…**

"HARUHI?"

"Mask-a-rade, mask-a-rade, mask-a-rade!"

"Where is my daughter?!"

"We're hosting a Mask-a—Oh! Takashi! Wear this, wear this! It's a bandit's mask, Takashi!"

"HARUHI! WHERE IS HARUHI?" Tamaki waved his arms about, panic level bursting. He sprinted to Kyoya, taking him by the collar of his suit and shaking him. "Kyoya! Did you see where Haruhi disappeared to?!"

Kyoya shrugged blandly, looking away, down at his notebook. "Last I heard, the twins took her to a separate room to put her in her dress…Do you know where the lights for the fountain are?"

"How can you think about lights at a time like this!" Tamaki howled, falling to his knees and pulling his blonde hair in agony. "Haruhi has been abducted to a dark room by those perverted twins! THEY'RE GOING TO DRESS HER. DRESSING MEANS TAKING OFF CLOTHES. DON'T YOU WORRY FOR OUR DAUGHTER, MOTHER?" Tamaki shook his head, a tragic look passing across his face. "She's growing up so fast…Already had her first kiss! What if the twins bring about…THE NEXT BIG THING?"

Kyoya shrugged, walking off in the opposite direction. "They've never done anything before…"

Hunny pulled on the hem of Tamaki's white suit. "Tama-chan, Tama-chan! What mask will you wear?"

"Mask?" asked Tamaki, a line going above his head as he stared blankly.

"Hai, hai! Because it's a mask-a-rade!" cried Hunny, spinning in circles and laughing.

Mori came up behind Hunny, dressed in a dark suit with a long, black cape re a black mask that stretched over his eyes and half his nose, making him almost unrecognisable. "Ah."

Tamaki snorted with laughter, and turned away to hid his face. "H-Hai, very good, Mori-senpai," he managed to choke out.

Mori looked down at Hunny through the two slits for eyes in his mask and said, "I don't think the outfit suits me."

"Yes it does, Takashi!" Hunny cried, placing on his own mask that was plastic and covered with colourful dots (that were meant to represent sprinkles on a cake). "At a mask-a-rade, everyone wears a mask!"

Tamaki straightened to his full height, tapping his chin in thought. "Yes…a mask…I didn't think of that."

Kyoya passed him, walking towards the doors of the music room. "You'd better think fast. The event's about to start."

Tamaki stopped dead in thought. "How can I think about my costume?!" he cried. "My Haruhi's gone missing!"

"Haru-chan's gone?" Hunny looked around. "Ohh, and so is Kao-kun and Hika-chan! They'll be late!" he gasped.

"Who cares about the bakas?!" Tamaki clenched a fist, a defiant glint entering his eye. "All that matters is Haruhi! Mori-senpai, Hunny-senpai! You cover the west side of the school! Kyoya will send his secret police out to scan the grounds! I'll—"

Kyoya smacked his planning book on Tamaki's head, stopping him short. "There will be no searching," he said in a flat tone. "We have a masquerade to host. Hikaru and Kaoru know to bring Haruhi back in time. Meanwhile, we have to make our way to the grounds. A few of the guests are there already."

Tamaki crumpled to the ground, holding his head in pain as a tear formed on the corner of his eye. He stared up at his friend with a pleading gaze, whimpering, "B-But K-Kyoyaaa…"

Kyoya turned, placed his own black mask on his face, and made his way towards the door. "Come on."

With a pout, Tamaki sat on the ground, arms crossed. "I won't go until my daughter returns to me!"

"C'mon, Tama-chan!" Hunny giggled, bouncing into him and sliding him towards the door. "You can't miss the mask-a-rade!"

"No, no, I must wait for Haruhi! She promised to dance with me!" Tamaki cried, flailing his arms in every direction as Hunny used his impossible strength to push Tamaki out the door. Mori walked slowly behind, an expressionless look on his face. If anything, he wasn't too happy with his mask.

**After Hunny dragged Tamaki through the school and outside…**

"Ah, you came finally," said Kyoya with a small smile as Tamaki was pushed into his legs. "You might want to regain your composure. Half the guests are here."

Tamaki stood, adjusting his white suit and brushing off the dirt from his legs. With an embarrassed cough, he turned to look at the field. Hours before, they had organized the tall trees to be covered with lights, for the field to be covered in long tables with food stacked high, and for there to be a fountain smack in the middle of where everyone would be dancing. He gave a sad, dramatic sigh, hunching his shoulders. "It'll do," he mumbled.

"It's perfect, because since its held outside in the night, there won't have to be any more cost put into making the mood right," Kyoya said with a smile. "It's cheaper than the other dances we've hosted."

Tamaki gave Kyoya a side-glance. "I'm glad you're enjoying it."

"Wow, look at all the pretty lights!" Hunny cried, amazed. "And, Takashi, Takashi, look! There's a fountain!"

"Ah."

"It's the Host Club!" gasped one of the girls in the crowd, looking towards the archway where Tamaki, Kyoya, Mori, and Hunny stood in.

"Oh! Let's ask them to dance!" cried another.

"YES!" screamed many girls with thunderous sound, balling up their fancy dresses in their gloved fists and sprinting towards them.

"What was the point in the masquerade if they recognize us?" Tamaki asked Kyoya with an irritated look.

Kyoya, face calm, said simply, "You don't have a mask, so they saw your face, and assumed us to be who we are."

Tamaki slapped his hands on his cheeks, not feeling his mask. "You're right!" he cried. "Where's my mask?! Where did it go?!"

"I asked you that, Tama-chan!" Hunny didn't fail to add.

With a cry of anguish, Tamaki spun around, sprinting back to the music room. This just encouraged the girls to run faster. Kyoya, Mori and Hunny on Mori's shoulders were pressed against a pillar as the crowd dashed straight past them.

"Tamaki-senpai, dance with uuus!" they called.

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**In the Math room, while the masquerade ball was taking place outside the windows…**

"Do I really have to wear this?" sighed Haruhi, looking at herself in the mirror at every angle. "It's so…"

"Yup!" the twins grinned, coming up on either side of her shoulder. "It's good!"

Haruhi frowned at her reflection. Her white dress was rather…large. It was V-necked, and the corset was tight around her thin waist. Then the skirt of it was the problem. She looked like she was some European woman from the 18th century, it was so large. "I look…strange," she said with a disgusted look.

The twins sighed. "Fine." Hikaru peeked his head around the doorway and called to one of their twin maids. "Hey, hey," he beckoned. "Haruhi wants another skirt!"

"If you insist," the maids sighed simultaneously, walking into the closet. They dashed back out, a flowing blue skirt in their hands, and ran into the room Haruhi was in. Flinging open the door again, they shoved the twins outside.

A few moments later, Hikaru and Kaoru gave each other a glance. "Do you think she's done?"

"Hikaru, Kaoru…" said Haruhi hesitantly. "I don't think blue looks good on me either."

"Hmm?" Sticking their heads back in, they looked at their friend. They gasped and grinned, holding their thumbs up. "Nice, Haruhi!"

"What? It looks okay?"

Kaoru nodded, coming up to her and bouncing one of her long, curly hair extensions. "Especially with long hair."

Haruhi slumped her shoulders, frowning into the mirror again at her blue dress. "All right then…" she grumbled as Hikaru placed a sparkling blue mask onto her face.

With a small smile, Hikaru stepped back from Haruhi, watching her look at herself uncertainly in the mirror. His face then creased into a frown.

Kaoru looked at him in the corner of his eye with a knowing smile. Sometimes he just knew his twin brother's feelings all too well.

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**At the masquerade ball…a half an hour into it…**

Tamaki sighed, looking away towards the spinning crowd. The dance was meant to be lively, but he lagged in his steps. His partner was a slightly overweight girl with a dull yellow dress, her brown hair in curls. She stared at him, transfixed, not believing that she was dancing with THE Tamaki Suoh.

Tamaki just wanted Haruhi to show up.

"That's a nice mask," the girl ventured, trying to make conversation. "I couldn't even tell that you were Tamaki-senpai until someone told me!"

Tamaki turned towards the girl again, smiling—his lips were the only feature on his face that could be seen. "In truth, no one should be wearing a mask," he said. He let out a long sigh, saying sorrowfully, dramatically holding up a hand to the sky, "It blocks so much beauty…" If one could see his expression behind his white mask that covered his nose and eyes, they would see sadness.

The music stopped, the dance ending. Tamaki went to his knee, holding the girl's hand and delicately brushing his lips against it. "If only I could see the beautiful face you have, behind that mask," he said, looking up at her and smiling.

The girl went red, holding her fist to her chest. "O-Oh!" she stammered, timidly shrinking under his bold words.

"Until next time," he said, departing with a bow. He walked off the dancing area, slumping into a wooden chair and sighing. His skin was getting sweaty underneath his white mask. That was his 7th dancing partner in 15 minutes: how did everyone figure out who he was?

He fingered the cuffs of his suit, a sigh heaving his chest. _Where is my daughter…?_

"Who is SHE?" a girl gasped to her friend behind him.

Tamaki turned his head, his brow knitting as a look of confusion passed over his face. A girl came tentatively towards the tables, fingering her white gloves on her hands as she looked around, as if lost. Tamaki stood up, struck by her beauty. He knew he shouldn't be jumping to conclusions since a sparkling blue mask hid her eyes and the bridge of her nose. One could only guess what was behind her mask.

But her long, flowing blue dress that complimented her thin frame and curled brown hair that hung to her waist suggested that the face behind her mask couldn't possibly be ugly.

His mouth opened in amazement. He tried to place who she was. After all, he _did _know the entire female population in Ouran. Could it be Suzuki Takada? No, no, she was too tall. This girl was shorter than tall. His mind racked with names, faces, possibilities. He couldn't puzzle out who this mysterious girl was.

Hesitantly, he came up to her. She stopped short, looking up at him, her eyebrows raised. He held out his hand, smiling. He started to ask, "May I have this dance?", except then Kyoya announced the next dance over the loudspeaker, drowning out his voice.

But she understood, although she hadn't heard. Smiling, she nodded, and took his hand in hers. It was small and warm: fit perfectly into his. Tamaki's face flushed at the touch. He led her amongst the dancers, putting one hand on her waist, another in hers. The music struck high once again. Tamaki gently urged her into the steps, and they glided.

She was awkward with some steps, but he led her into a graceful substitute. The whole time he couldn't stop smiling at her, smiling at how shy she was, smiling at her shy strides.

_There's something…about her…_

She caught his eye, and smiled softly back. She opened her mouth to say something, when she missed a step. Tamaki quickly went backwards so they wouldn't crash into each other, and covered for her mistake by twirling her in a graceful circle. Her blue dress billowed around her, and she came back gently into Tamaki's arms.

As she faced him once again, she blushed and muttered, "Gomenasai."

Tamaki frowned. _Her voice…is familiar. But where have I heard it?_

For the next few blissful minutes, Tamaki held her as they danced, soaking in the joy of every minute of it. He couldn't explain why he had the warm feeling in his chest, the thrill in his mind that was absent when he danced with the other girls. She made his heart race, made his cheeks go on fire every time she went closer and closer to him.

She was different. Different from everyone else.

Then, the dance ended; Tamaki's heart sank. The happy moments he experienced shattered into nothing as the hired musicians stopped their music and put down their instruments. The girl curtsied; he bowed. As he lifted his head, and she lifted hers, they smiled at each other, almost in regret. She then turned to leave him.

_No, don't go! _He caught her wrist. "What's your—" he began.

"Oh, no! Hunny-senpai!"

Tamaki and his partner's head turned. They both gasped as they saw Hunny fall backwards into the fountain's waters, his plate of cake flipping in the air.

"Look, Mori-kun will save him!"

Mori sprinted over to where Hunny fell and reached his hands into the water. He snatched Hunny by the suit, pulling him up into his arms, frowning down at him worriedly. The girls around them gasped and mourned for the soaking of their beloved classmate.

Hunny sputtered and began to cry unhappy tears. "I-I didn't mean to fall!" Tamaki faintly heard him say.

"It's okay, Hunny-senpai, it was all the rock's fault, not yours!" screamed a standbyer in assurance.

Tamaki turned towards the mysterious girl again, to ask her his question, when he felt her wrist yanked out of his hand. "Hey!" he barked, seeing two men dragging her away.

_They're abducting my princess! _He dashed after them, shouting for them to stop. But the two orange-haired men didn't stop pulling her towards the door to the school.

"Watch it!" cried a man holding a tray. Tamaki didn't pay attention; he ducked under the man's outstretched arms and leaped onto the table, taking a great jump over multiple guests' heads.

"YAMETE!" he cried, holding out his hand, as if to grab the departing girl, pull her back into his arms.

A blur whizzed under his feet. He fell over, right onto his face, smack onto the grass. He lifted his head, dazed, and saw an irritated orange cat swiping her paw at him. She wasn't pleased that he tripped over her.

"What the? Wait!" Tamaki looked towards the door to the school, past the pillars. The two men and his princess disappeared through the door. He scrambled to his feet, ignoring the fact that his mask was hanging askew off his face. "Please come back!"

He ran, as fast as he could, towards the door. Within a moment, his princess disappeared through the door. The skirt of her magnificent blue dress flashed in the moonlight before she was erased by the shadows.

Once he got to the door, he smacked into the wall, stopping himself with his sweaty hands before he smashed into the concrete completely. His fist gripping the handle of the door, he yanked it open violently. "Stop!" he shouted into the hall, his voice bouncing across the empty hall.

He was greeted by darkness. He gritted his teeth, clenching his fist. "Damn it!" he cursed, looking down at the ground in defeat. He blinked in surprise, frowning at what caught his eye. By his black polished shoe was a sheet of something that had been dropped by one of the people who disappeared through the door.

Bending to pick it up, he sat crouched, holding the piece of paper with a bewildered look on his face.

"My princess… while she was being abducted…dropped…Algebra homework?" he muttered while staring blankly at the sheet.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x**

**Just to let you know, the girl he obviously danced with was Haruhi... And yes, I AM BACK! Mwahaha. Well 'My Silent Feelings' is as good as dead so why not try another story that's been locked away inside my head for ages now? I promise I'll finish My Silent Feelings, just not today. XD**

**Now…let your mouse…slowly travel to the 'review' button…good job…nearly there…(if these words have disappeared, you've done it! If they don't, I am sorry, you have failed the 'review' test). **

**-KuroHinote :)**


	2. Masquerade Mystery

**I have to say, I'm oddly amused that this story has gained so much attention. THANK YOU REVIEWERS! Now your award: an early update. And a cookie. **

**Translations:**

**Shukudai:** homework 

**Onegai:** please 

**Sumimasen:** excuse me 

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_Chapter 2._

**Recap: **

He [Tamaki) was greeted by darkness. He gritted his teeth, clenching his fist. "Damn it!" he cursed, looking down at the ground in defeat. He blinked in surprise, frowning at what caught his eye. By his black polished shoe was a sheet of something that had obviously been dropped by one of the people who disappeared through the door.

Bending to pick it up, he sat crouched, holding the piece of paper with a bewildered look on his face.

"My princess… while she was being abducted…dropped…Algebra homework?" he muttered while staring blankly at the sheet.

**Story:**

**At the Host Club the next day…**

Tamaki hunched over the table, chin propped on his fist as his elbow rested on the polished wood tabletop. "Who…could it have been?" he muttered.

"Tama-chan, Tama-chan!" Hunny held up a plate of cake in front of his face. "Try my new cake, please?"

Tamaki nodded absently, sticking the fork in his mouth and glaring at the empty space in front of him. "Who was my princess?" he growled between the cake.

Haruhi bent over her homework, scribbling on a notepad as she drafted out an essay to do with 'mysterious occurrences over the past 30 years'. She frowned in concentration as Tamaki simmered next to her (contemplating over his complicated thoughts), unaware of anything around her.

"Who did I dance with last night?!" Tamaki howled, slamming his palms on the table and standing, face crimson with anger. Haruhi jumped a bit when the table shook under her notepad, but paid no attention otherwise.

Hunny tilted his head in confusion, eyes wide and wondering at Tamaki. "Tama-chan, you didn't like the cake?"

"No, no, Hunny-senpai, it was delicious…" He looked over to Kyoya, straightening and clasping his hands behind his back. "Kyoya!" he barked. "Get me names and pictures of all the female population in this school! Immediately!"

"So I'm your secretary now?" sighed Kyoya, typing a few keys on the laptop and hardly paying attention to the blonde.

"What happened last night that requires the names and pictures, m'lord?" asked the twins, leaning in on the scene, expressions skeptical.

"Last night, a maiden fair and exquisitely beautiful beyond all compare danced with me!" Tamaki announced, sitting back down on his chair and leaning against his elbow. "She had a mask on…and I never got to know her name…"

The twins raised an eyebrow at each other. "Uh huh…" They crept behind Tamaki. Kaoru said softly in Tamaki's ear, "You know, the girl could not have been from this school."

Hikaru nodded and mimed his brother's actions. "The invitation was sent beyond Ouran students. Perhaps the girl could have been a friend of a friend?"

Tamaki frowned deepened. "I have one clue to go off of…"

"A clue?" they asked.

Hunny leaned closer to them, while shoving the cake into his mouth, eyebrow raised.

Nodding, Tamaki whipped out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and held it up for the twins to see. "Shukudai," he said gravely.

"Shuku…dai?" asked the twins in a perplexed tone, staring blankly at Tamaki's evidence of his madness.

Kaoru snatched the paper from Tamaki, frowning at it. "It's advanced algebra. This girl you danced with seems fit to be in an A class, at least."

Sighing blissfully, Tamaki leaned back in his chair, a serene look on his face. "Yes, she's the perfect maiden for me!" he swooned, putting his hands on his cheeks and rocking back in forth in pleasure. "She's smart, kind, beautiful, intelligent, has good handwriting…"

Hikaru peeked over his brother's shoulder, frowning. "…I can't even read the equations."

Tamaki flew up from his seat, advancing on Hikaru with a scowl. "Don't talk about my princess in negative terms!" he bellowed, whacking him over the head with a book he snatched up from the table.

"So you danced with the girl of your dreams…you don't know who she is…and you have only this clue to go off of?" Kaoru asked, holding up the homework in front of Tamaki's face.

Nodding, with a serious look on his face, Tamaki replied, "Hai!"

"Tama-chan's found his Cinderella!" cried Hunny suddenly, beaming.

The three turned their heads to frown at him in confusion. Hunny shrunk under their gazes, muttering, "Well, I think so…"

Mori came up behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "It was a good explanation, Mitsukuni," he assured him.

"Hunny-kun, Hunny-kun!" cried a short, black-haired customer sitting on the couch, waving her hand and smiling. "Come over here! Onegai?"

Hunny smiled, nodding. "Hai, hai! Here I come!" He bounced over to the crowd of his fans, Mori shrugging and walking after him.

Casually, Kyoya walked up to Tamaki and leaned against the table as he picked up his teacup and sipped the brown substance inside. "If you're so bent on finding out who this mystery princess of yours is, why don't you use the clue you have?"

Tamaki paused. Looking at Kyoya with a new hope rekindling slowly in his eyes, Tamaki whispered, "Yes! That's…A BRILLIANT IDEA!" He sprinted to Kyoya, glomping him. "You're my best friend Kyoya, my best friend!"

Kyoya sighed deeply, closing his eyes in irritation. Fortunately, he was used to Tamaki's spontaneous 'leap-and-crush-with-a-hug' techniques in his direction.

"I'll start now!" he cried in triumph. With a high, happy leap in the air, Tamaki snatched the algebra homework from Kaoru and sprinted to a startled girl sitting on the nearest couch. "Is this yours?" he demanded, gesturing wildly to the algebra homework, face intent.

The girl blinked. "Why, no, I don't believe so…"

"Thank you for your assistance." With a quick, formal bow, he sprinted to the next group of girls, disrupting their conversation to cut in with the same question.

Kaoru, Hikaru, and Kyoya watched with sweat-drops forming on the sides of their heads as their King bounced from group to group, asking the same question repeatedly: "Is this your homework?"

"It's almost…like a repeat of Cinderella," Hikaru said slowly. "Perhaps Hunny-senpai's crazy theory was right," he sighed, shaking his head back and forth while shrugging his shoulders.

Behind them, Haruhi looked up from her homework, just then tuning into her surroundings. "Hikaru…" she began as she frowned out into the empty space.

Turning, Hikaru gave her a smile. "What's on your mind, Haruhi?" he asked, leaning against her chair.

She tapped her chin with her pencil in thought. "I wonder…did you get a glimpse of the man I was dancing with last night before you dragged me away to finish designing my dress?"

Hikaru looked blank for a moment. "When was that?"

"After I left the building. For those five minutes when you were looking for me, I danced with someone. I didn't know who he was, because of his mask…but I was wondering if you saw him before you dragged me away?"

He snapped his fingers. "Ah! I remember now. Kaoru saw him; he was closest to you. Hey, Kaoru!" he called.

Kaoru turned. "What is it?"

"You know when we stole Haruhi away from her first dancing partner to dress her into a new outfit? Did you see him?"

Kaoru stared. "Partner…? Oh, actually…I think I did. His back was turned, so I didn't catch what he looked like at the front…"

"That's because Hunny-senpai fell in the fountain," Haruhi frowned, tilting her head to one side. "We were looking at him."

"Yeah. The guy WAS blonde…I remember that much. It was dark, so I couldn't say for sure."

Hikaru grinned at his twin. "You're more observant than I am."

Haruhi nodded slowly, still swamped by her thoughts. She danced with someone last night…and he was different. Different from all her other partners. As much as she didn't want to be, she was…taken by him. He was all she could think about when she got home from the masquerade. But who was the masked prince she danced with?

"Could it be Tamaki-senpai?" Kaoru asked suddenly.

Haruhi looked up in disbelief. "Wh-What? Senpai?"

"He danced with someone mysterious last night, so he said. Could it be possible that you two danced with each other without knowing it?" Kaoru shrugged.

Haruhi looked over to the rambunctious King, who was bending over to talk to females with a charming smile as he gestured to a piece of paper. She thought of his personality; the way he would have danced with her. It couldn't have been him. This man she danced with was different.

_Besides, I see Tamaki-senpai every day, and never feel any significant feelings for him. My heart was racing when I was dancing with whoever-it-was last night, and if it WAS Tamaki-senpai, I'm sure that I wouldn't have felt that way. _

She shook her head. "I don't think so."

Kaoru and Hikaru shrugged simultaneously. "Then we're out of ideas."

She sighed. Slammed her homework book shut. "I need to go home early," she announced.

Kyoya looked over at her from his table, the light glinting his glasses. "Already? It's only 4:30. The Host Club doesn't finish until 6:00."

"I know…but I have more things to do than usual today." She managed a small smile. "If I could go early, this once, and if my requests could be held off…that would be really helpful." She looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to give in.

Kyoya rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "You think I'll go soft that easily?"

Haruhi raised an eyebrow at him, an exasperated look passing over her face. "Either way I'm going," she declared, standing and walking towards the door.

Kaoru and Hikaru gave each other a look, then waved to Haruhi. "Sayoonara, Haruhi!"

She gave a small wave. Her eyes wandered to Tamaki. Again, she considered that he might have possibly been the masked prince she danced with…Maybe, if she thought about it long enough?…

_Impossible._

With a scoff at the silliness of comparing over-reactive Tamaki-senpai to the calm, cool man she danced with, she opened the door and walked out of the music room.

As she stepped a few steps down the hall, she held her notebook to her chest and frowned down at the floor. _Why…is the person I danced with…constantly on my mind?_

She raised her head as she heard footsteps coming towards her. Her eyes widened as a tall, blonde man passed her. The sweet scent of pine trees blew past her face as he breezed past her. She gasped. _Blonde—!_

"Sumimasen…!" she cried, spinning on her heel. The words ripped from her before she could stop them.

The young man turned. His face was set in a frown, his familiar brilliant blue eyes peeking out in confusion from his blonde hair that draped over his face.

"Chotto," she began awkwardly, not sure what to say. "W-Were you at the masquerade last night?"

He nodded slowly. "I…was."

_He could be…! _Haruhi stared at him, paralysed and unable to say anymore. She didn't have to. The door of the music room burst open, slamming against the wall at full force and nearly coming off its hinges when it did.

"HARUHI!" echoed a furious voice in the hall.

Haruhi looked past the young man's shoulder, eyes widening further. "S-Senpai?" she squeaked.

Tamaki charged out of the room, sprinting towards her. "Haruhi, you shall not leave!" He took a spectacular leap over the blonde and crashed into Haruhi, seizing her arm. "Haruhi, what were you thinking, were you LEAVING?! Daddy forbids it!"

Haruhi shrugged blandly, hardly concerned. "I have things to do."

"Haruhi, you're making avoiding things a habit! You didn't even dance with me last night, like you promised! I—"

"I didn't promise, AND I couldn't find you for the whole night," Haruhi said. Looking around Tamaki, she saw the young man again, who was staring right at them.

The blonde from before smirked. His fingers were flashing back and forth against each other as his hand hung at his side; a nervous habit, Haruhi assumed. "I see the President is here," he said in a slick, smooth voice.

Haruhi noticed Tamaki's face going rigid. He let go of Haruhi and pivoted on his heel, glaring at the young man. "Kunio."

Kunio's grin grew. "Hello, Suoh."

"You…know each other?" Haruhi asked hesitantly, noticing the intense tension between the two.

There was a span of silence. Tamaki turned, his face serious. Haruhi flinched with surprise. Tamaki-senpai was never serious.

In a grave tone, Tamaki told her, "He's my cousin."

Haruhi blinked, dumbstruck. Her eyes travelled over to the grinning blonde as a horrified look passed over her face.

_My suggested 'Prince' who I danced with last night…is Tamaki-senpai's cousin?!_

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x**

**Hmm wonder if its even POSSIBLE for Tamaki to have a cousin…oh well. Now, run forth my friends, write your reviews, and consume your cookies!! **

**-KuroHinote**


	3. The Grudge

**Note: I notice that a lot of you have me on your alerts list/favorites list. Now that's all fine. But the most disturbing thing is, you guys aren't reviewing me. I want to hear your thoughts--imput on my story would be very much appreciated. Besides that, enjoy:) ((I get kind of worked up over these things...**

**Translations:**

**Yooichi:** Kunio's stuffed monkey 

**Doshite:** Why 

**Dame desu:** It's forbidden 

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x**

_Chapter 3. _

**Recap: **

"You two…know each other?" Haruhi asked hesitantly, noticing the intense tension between the two.

There was a span of silence. Tamaki turned, his face serious. Haruhi flinched with surprise. Tamaki-senpai was never serious.

In a grave tone, Tamaki told her, "He's my cousin."

Haruhi blinked, dumbstruck. Her eyes travelled over to the grinning blonde as a horrified look passed over her face.

_My suggested 'Prince' who I danced with last night…is Tamaki-senpai's cousin?!_

**Story:**

There was an awkward silence that hung between the three. Kunio chuckled. "What? Is it such a shock?" he asked, addressing Haruhi.

Haruhi shook her head. "No…"

"Who is he, anyway?" Kunio asked, nodding his head in Haruhi's direction.

"Why should you care?" Tamaki said through clenched teeth. Haruhi saw his hands clench into fists at his sides.

"Cousin?" asked Haruhi, frowning with confusion. "I didn't know…that you had one. When did he come to Ouran?"

"Around a week ago," said Kunio. "I suppose Tamaki kept me a secret, though?"

Tamaki muttered, "Who wouldn't?"

Haruhi tilted her head to one side, noticing Tamaki's hate. "Why do you seem…to have something against him?" she asked bluntly.

Kunio blinked at how quickly she jumped to the point.

Raising his hand, Tamaki pointed dead at his cousin. "20th of May!" he boomed in a deep, dramatic voice.

A blank look passed over Haruhi's face. "Huh?"

His grin returning, Kunio chuckled, "Ah, yes, I remember. Oka-san had taken me over to your house when you mother had fallen ill. She was meant to take care of her, since you were too young to—again." His tone dropped to a dead tone at the last word, his smiling fading, his features tightening.

Tamaki told Haruhi in a grave voice, "He stole my bear, Haruhi. For _two days._"

"…Eh?" _His…bear? Is that really something…to have a grudge over…? _

"It's just a stuffed animal, cuz," said Kunio, waving his hand absently. "Get over it already."

"Never!" Tamaki declared, stamping his foot to demonstrate his point. "I declare a re-match! I will fly over to France NOW and go to your house, and rob you of your STUFFED MONKEY."

Kunio's eye twitched. "Don't. You dare. Steal Yooichi," he growled.

Haruhi simply stared.

"I will!" Tamaki declared, throwing his head back, letting loose a sound of maniacal laughter. "I'll book a plane _right now._" He reached into his blazer pocket, slowing drawing out his phone, giving Kunio a victorious smile as he did.

Kunio grinned, sticking his hands in his pockets and looking casual once again. "As if your father will let you. You're banned from France until further notice."  
Now it was Tamaki's turn to twitch. "I have my ways…of making your monkey suffer," he whispered dangerously.

Kunio snorted, turning and throwing his hands in the air. "You're assuming I care about that stupid monkey!" He turned his head, a dangerous smirk glinting his face. "Besides, stealing your bear and watching you bawl your little eyes out for a whole two days was _beyond_ worth it."

The King of the Host Club took that to a deep, wounded heart. "If you dare—!"

"But I don't have time for this," sighed Kunio, faking a yawn. "I'm late as it is for dinner…with your father, actually, Tamaki." He was about to turn, when he stopped. "You know, it's interesting to me. Despite the fact that he's YOUR father…he's paying more attention to me than he ever did to you." Shrugging, as Tamaki scowl deepened, he turned on his heel and walked down the hall.

"Nice to meet you…Haruhi Fujioka," Kunio added with a chuckle as he rounded a corner.

Haruhi stared at where he disappeared. "He knows my name?"

Tamaki stood rigidly, stung by his words. He was silent for a moment. "Let me…KILL HIM!" he shouted, taking a lunge for his retreating cousin.

"Ah! No, senpai, calm down!" Haruhi pleaded, grabbing his blazer as he attempted to sprint. "No good will come of it if you hurt him!"

"Hurt him?! I want to murder him, in front of all the witnesses I can find! The King will have his bloodshed!" Tamaki declared, swatting Haruhi's arm away. So great was the force, that she stumbled off her feet and fell to the ground.

"Ow…" she muttered, rubbing her side.

Tamaki gasped. "Haruhi!" he cried, spinning around, his declarations of war ceasing. "Haruhi, gomen, gomen! I didn't mean…" He bent down beside her, a worried frown creasing his face. "Are you all right?"

Haruhi nodded, climbing to her knees. "You never told anyone…that you have a cousin," she said slowly, her eyes lifting to meet his.

He sighed, looking away. "I do," he admitted. "Only one; that I know of. His mother, my aunt, always used to look after me and my mother when she got sick. He's my age…a year above you. And…although we were well-off in money, his mother and him were…poorer."

Haruhi tilted her head to one side, frowning. "Doshite—?"

"Haruhi," said Tamaki forcefully, grabbing her arms and staring with an intense gaze into her brown eyes. "I need you to promise me something."

She nodded hesitantly. "What…is it?"

"You are forbidden to speak with him. Hang around with him. Do _anything _that involves interacting with him. Dame desu!"

Quickly jerking her head up and down, Haruhi replied, "Hai, hai…"

"No! You must promise _faithfully_!" He helped her to her feet, bending over to look into her eyes. "Kunio is not a good person. He was…brought up with strange ways. He's not right in the head. He could hurt you, if he wanted to. There's a reason why I kept his presence here a secret from the Host Club. Do you understand?"

"I…understand."

Tamaki nodded sharply, straightening. "Good."

"…but I'll still have a conversation with him, if he talks to me…"

Tamaki went white, hearing her words. "Haruhi!…" he choked, his eyes filling with tears. "HARUHI DOESN'T LISTEN TO MEE!" he wailed, retreating to a dark corner, hunching over.

"Senpai…" Haruhi sighed, massaging her sore temples.

"Tama-chan!" The door of the music open, and Hunny came skipping out, Mori close behind him, his face buried inside a book. "Someone's requested you. Tama-chan!"

"This is when I leave," Haruhi announced, turning to go before Hunny spotted her and pulled her into the music room again.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. Sighing, she turned, to meet eyes with Tamaki. A worried look was on his face. "Don't go near him if you can help it," he said. "Please?"

Haruhi nodded slowly, not completely certain how the sudden seriousness in Tamaki came about. "I won't…" She turned and walked down the hall, notebook clutched in her hand, confusion spinning her mind.

Tamaki paused before walking back into the music room, staring at her retreating figure. Finally, he turned himself, walking back to the rest of the Host Club. "That's why I kept him a secret," he murmured to himself.

"To prevent him…from meeting Haruhi…"

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

**That night, at the Fujioka residence…**

_Clap._

Haruhi tossed fitfully in her sleep as the thunderstorm outside her house roared on. The trees scraped against the window. The wind's howling reached her ears, mingling with the terrifying sound of the thunderstorm.

Inside her mind, an upsetting dream stirred…

She's dancing with the masked Prince again. Although she hears the thunderstorm, it is simply the soft clashing of cymbals as the orchestra's sound swells in her ears. She wears this time a dress that is long, flowing, and much more magnificent than the original that she wore at the masquerade. Her hair is truly long, and is tied into a sleek bun, with a small curl hanging down her neck. A tiara is stuck in her short fringe, suggesting that she is royalty.

Her masked prince smiles at her, kind and caring as he guides her through the dance. They glide. A soft solo is delicately bowed on the cello in the orchestra as a warm feeling stirs inside her. She is protected. Never happier.

_Clap._

Her dream instantly turns to black as the thunderstorm reaches her ears at full force. The once blue sky over her head is grey, and dark clouds loom overhead, lightning buzzing inside them. She screams and covers her ears, eyes squeezed shut.

"Keep dancing with me," a smooth voice beckons.

She opens one eye. It's her prince, still holding out his hand to her. His expression is hard to tell because of the pointed black mask on his face. She doesn't want to dance; but is pulled forcefully into the steps once again by him, the dance complicated and more confusing than she remembered. The kind smile that was once on the prince's face is replaced by a cold and calculating air, a smirk now tugging at his lips.

Haruhi tilts her head to one side, confused. _Is this really…?_

_Clap._

The thunder reaches her ears once again. She cries out and closes her eyes. When she opens them again, the mask is off her prince. But it's not her prince, not anymore. It's Kyoya, chuckling at her, his arms crossed over his chest.

She stares at him, dumbstruck. _Kyoya-senpai…is the prince I danced with?! _

Before she can think, two hands grab either one of her small wrists. One man takes her into his grasp, and they dance simple steps once more. She looks up into the orange-masked face of the man, frowning. His steps are just as clumsy as hers. Then she's thrust into another man's arms. It feels like the same person, except this man is more cool and composed. She feels safer inside his dancer's frame.

And so she's pushed, man to man, both the same ones as before, until her head is spinning from confusion.

_Clap._

Crying out in fear, she covers her ears in a desperate attempt to block out the noise. She peeks open an eye. The masks had come off both of the young men while her eyes were shut, and she sees Hikaru and Kaoru smiling down at her sympathetically.

She blinks. _Hikaru or Kaoru…one of them danced with me? But…how…? _

Someone taps her shoulder. Her eyes travel up, up, until she meets the black-masked face of a tall, dark man, his mouth in a taunt line. He takes her hands gently in his and they dance, all the time Haruhi in awe at how protective he was in his steps. He always looks out that she's dancing correctly, and if she does a wrong step, he makes up for it. She thinks that he's exactly like who she did dance with at the masquerade…except…not as kind. His manner is colder…

_Clap._

Haruhi yelps. She hunches over, covering her ears, whimpering in fear. She feels the man pat her on the head, comfortingly. She frowns, and looks up, seeing his mask off.

_Mori-senpai? He's…my prince that I danced with at the masquerade?_

Someone takes her hand before she can think. Twirls her around. Mori blurs out and leaves her vision. With wide eyes, she gazes upon a blonde masked man. He gives her a small smile as they begin the dance once more.

_This has to be Tamaki-senpai, _she thinks to herself. The dance they perform is a waltz, calmer than the dances beforehand. Rain begins to pour, weighing down Haruhi's long locks and sagging the man's blonde hair. She blinks through the rain pouring down her face, squinting to see when the man's mask came off. She wants to see.

_Clap._

She shivers in fear, but doesn't close her eyes. Instead, she forces them to keep pried open. She wants to see if it's really Tamaki behind the mask. She wants to be proven…that he's truly…her prince.

The man lets go of her hands. Reaches a hand behind his head to untie his mask. The white-clothed thing falls to the wet ground, revealing his face. Forking back his blonde hair, her Prince grins a familiar grin as the sweet smell of pine trees reach her nose. "Well, well," Kunio chuckles. "If it isn't Haruhi Fujioka."

She stood, paralysed. _I-I…danced with….Kunio-senpai?!_

_Cla—SMASH._

With a scream, Haruhi woke, sitting up in her bed in a flash. A smash had overlapped the sound of the thunder, jolting her awake.

She sat in her bed, frozen with fear, as she heard someone clambering around in the hall. _A murderer?! _she though in terror, her imagination going wild.

Then she heard Ryoji, muttering incoherently as he stumbled past Haruhi's room, recognizing his slurred, drunken language that never made any sense. She sighed, relaxing, and burrowed herself under the covers, bracing herself for the next clap of thunder.

She shuddered, remembering her bizarre dream.

_Why…Tamaki's cousin? Why not…Tamaki?_

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x**

**I loved writing Haruhi's dream. It was so inspiring. –hugs scene-**

**Please tell me all your thoughts! I THRIVE off thoughts, for goodness sakes. Next chapter shall come soon! ;)**

**And, as always, thank you for reading. **

**-KuroHinote**


	4. An Inner Theatre Moment Gone Wrong

**Ahhh, how nurturing reviews are to the weary soul…(I have a cold and I am in complete hell). You guys…are so nice…to review and read my story…! –blows loudly into handkerchief- It's the only thing that keeps me going…! –falls to knees, hanging head-**

**Kaoru+Hikaru: -stare blankly at the pitiful scene-**

**Disclaimer that I have failed to put in the previous chapters: I do not own OHSHC. Go away. **

**Note: I hate having gaps in my story, but I don't exactly know Tamaki's Dad's character—so I improvised. Gomen if he's OOC!**

**Translations: **

**Tono: **It means 'Lord', or something along those lines. When I looked it up, it said 'feudal lord'. Weird…

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x**

_Chapter 4. _

**Recap: **

The man lets go of her hands. Reaches a hand behind his head to untie his mask. The black-clothed thing falls to the wet ground, revealing his face. Forking back his blonde hair, her Prince grins a familiar grin. "Well, well," he chuckles. "If it isn't Haruhi Fujioka."

She stood, paralysed. _I-I…danced with….Kunio-senpai?!_

…_Why Tamaki's cousin? Why not…Tamaki? _**((A/N: WHOOPS forgot to put Senpai…Heh…))**

**Story: **

**The next day, at the Host Club…**

Kyoya gave Tamaki a side-glance, a frown creasing his brow. "Tamaki…" he began.

His friend turned in his chair towards him, tilting his head to one side in question. "Yes, Kyoya?"

Kyoya frowned at Tamaki's smile, unknown thoughts crossing through his mind. "Did…Kunio go over to your father's mansion last night?"

The King of the Host Club's face went stiff. Turning in his chair to face straight ahead, Tamaki calmly took a sip of his tea. "He did," replied he, lowering the cup back onto the table.

Kyoya nodded. "I…see."

"M'looord!"

Tamaki turned his head for a mere moment before he was smothered by white fabric.

"Ack, what—?!" he cried, flailing his arms wildly. "What are you doing, you fools!!"

"Tell us if this dress suits Haruhi for the next dance," Hikaru and Kaoru beckoned, holding the dress back so he could see. Either of them held the flowing white dress by the sleeve, showing it in full length. "Well?"

Tamaki began to imagine Haruhi in his inner mind theatre then stopped himself. "No! I have more important things to think about!" he told the twins and himself, crossing his arms and turning away.

The twins gave each other a knowing look. "Well, since you never got to see Haruhi at the masquerade, would you like to see the dress she wore?"

Tamaki shook his head fiercely, scrunching up into a small ball. "No, no!" he squeaked, his arms over his head. "Don't tempt me with what she will wear, did wear, and never wore!"

"Aw. Tonooooo," they complained in one combined low, whining voice. "You always give good opinions on what Haruhi wears!" they said devilishly, dancing the dress in front of his face, a teasing smile on their faces.

"No, no!" Puckering his lips in a pout, forcing himself not to look at the dress Haruhi had worn at the masquerade that he was deprived the pleasure of seeing her in, he threw his hands over his head and scrunched against the table, face buried into the wood. "It's too much!"

Kyoya, surveying Tamaki's scene of desolation, thought of Tamaki's behaviour before, at the mention of Kunio. He chuckled. _Who would have known his cousin gave him that much misery? _he thought. Turning, he occupied himself with his notebook once again.

"Kyoyaaa!" Tamaki complained as the twins thrust dress after dress into Tamaki's face, beckoning him to observe them. "They're—"

"Oh, it's Haruhi!" Hikaru cheered, sprinting towards Haruhi as she went through the door. Kaoru followed, and they both appeared at her side in a flash, nuzzling their cheeks against hers.

"Haruhi, Haruhi!" they chorused. "We're so happy to see you!"

Haruhi gave them a cautious look. "What did you scheme now?"

"DON'T ACCEPT WHATEVER THEY GIVE YOU!" Tamaki shrieked, sprinting madly towards them. Kaoru and Hikaru stepped in front of Haruhi, smacking their lord to a halt as he ran into their backs.

"We want you to try on dresses!" they said with devilish grins.

"Dresses…?"

The twins flew the long white dress into her hands, snapping their thumbs in the air, giving her large grins as they snickered. "Perfect!"

She frowned, observing the dress in her hands. "It looks like…a wedding dress…"

Tamaki went white, his jaw dropping as he envisioned Haruhi in the dress: this time in a new light.

"Haru-chan's getting married?" Hunny gasped, bouncing up to them.

Haruhi shrugged. "It looks like a dress that someone could possibly be married in," she said, holding up the white dress for Hunny and Mori to see.

"Ohh, Haru-chan! You'd look so kawaii!"

"Ah," agreed Mori.

"N-Not for me!" stuttered Haruhi, a horrified expression on her face.

Tamaki strode up to her, taking her by the hand. "Yes, for you!" he breathed, looking deep into her eyes.

"N-Nani?!" Haruhi cried, a sweat-drop appearing on one side of her head.

But Tamaki didn't hear. Already, his inner mind theatre was playing like mad. He stood at the alter, in a black suit, Kyoya as his best man. Renge-chan and a few of Haruhi's old school friends stood as bridesmaids, holding roses in their hands. Yes, roses. They'll have roses at their wedding. In honour of the Host Club, where they first met!

He could see the baka twins blowing their noses into handkerchiefs, sobbing tears of devastation, wishing they never suggested the dress, so Haruhi wouldn't have to be taken away from them. He could see Hunny being carried by Mori as he held the ring on a cushion in his hands. Then Haruhi comes up the aisle, in her long, flowing dress, smiles, and _confesses her vows!_ and promises to be with him and love him FOREVER MORE…!

"Yes, yes!" Tamaki cried, going red as he bounced in circles, swamped in his fantasy. "I will marry you Haruhi, I will!" He took Hunny by the hands and twirled him around with him.

The twins sniggered as Haruhi stared blankly.

"It just…a dress…" she managed, watching Tamaki dance around. As she did, she couldn't help but let a small yawn escape her. She placed her palm over her gaping mouth to smother it.

She felt someone come up beside her. "Oh, hello Mori-senpai," she greeted, her yawn dying away.

"Tired?" he asked her in his monotone voice.

Hunny somehow broke from Tamaki's dance, running dizzily over to them. "Haru-chan's tired?" he gasped as he leaned against Mori's legs for balance.

"Oh, I had a bit of a restless night…" Haruhi said, waving her hand casually as another yawn escaped her.

Tamaki stopped in mid-theatre moment. "Daughter," he said sternly, striding over to her and frowning down at her. "You should take care of yourself more! Lack of sleep can alter your education!"

"What would you know about education?" snorted Hikaru obnoxiously, crossing his arms.

Tamaki spun around, pointing at Hikaru. "YOU—!"

"It's because of the thunderstorm, right?" Kyoya asked, cutting Tamaki off. He peeked over his laptop, his eyes knowing.

Haruhi nodded slowly, studying his face. Her dream sprinted back to her at full force. _I wonder…if Kaoru saw the wrong hair colour of the man I danced with? Maybe….I _did _dance with Kyoya…?_

"Storm?!" Tamaki cried, truly shocked. "I didn't hear a storm!"

"Who would have known m'lord is such a deep sleeper?" asked the twins, shrugging to each other.

Cutting in front of them, Tamaki wailed, "I didn't hear a storm!", waving his arms about.

Haruhi frowned at the twins at they spoke, ignoring Tamaki. _It couldn't have been them…they were the ones that dragged me _away _from whoever I danced with…_

Mori looked down at her and told her, "There are sleeping pills…you could take during a storm if you have trouble sleeping."

Haruhi nodded and smiled. "I'll probably try that next time!" she assured him. "Thank you for the idea." _It couldn't have been Mori-senpai. He matches the dancer's personality, cool and controlled, but he was over with Hunny-senpai when he fell into the fountain…_

"Pills?" gasped Hunny. "Is Haru-chan sick?"

"I DIDN'T HEAR A STORM. WHY?!" Tamaki demanded, stamping his foot against the ground.

Kyoya sighed and said, "You never pick up anything, anyway…"

Haruhi sat back, thinking. _Who could it be…?_

"Hey…whose that?" the twins asked.

Haruhi heard the music doors creak open. Her head turned; so did Tamaki's. Kunio strode through the door, hands in his pockets, the trademark grin on his face.

Tamaki went rigid. And didn't say a thing more.

Kyoya pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, giving out a sigh of disgust. "Him…" he muttered, typing faster on his laptop.

Hunny broke the silence by gasping and running up to Kunio, his plate of cake still in his hand. "Hi, and welcome to the Host Club!" he chimed, smiling as the pink flowers twirled around him. "Would you like some cake?"

Kunio averted his eyes down to the small teenager. He snorted. "What are you, four?" He walked straight past him without giving him a second glance.

Hunny frowned in hurt and confusion, his face falling.

Mori appeared in front of Kunio, standing at an intimidating height, glaring down at him. Kunio raised his eyebrows, looking at him expectantly. "Hi?"

Kunio shouldered past Mori. Mori let him go, clenching his fist and scowling after him. He turned on his heel and walked to Hunny, scooping him up in his arms and sliding him around on his back. Hunny buried his face into his cousin's neck as he attached his arms around his shoulders.

Waltzing up to Tamaki, Kunio grinned at him. Haruhi looked down at his hand; he was doing the same thing as yesterday, brushing his fingers back and forth against each other in a blur as his hand hung against his leg. "Hey, cuz," he greeted. He looked around the music room, nodding. "This is the club you run, eh?"

Tamaki continued glaring at him. "Why are you here?"

"Just getting a taste of the Japanese culture," said Kunio, shrugging one shoulder. "Is that so horrible?"

The Hitachiin twins leaned in closer towards Haruhi. "Who's he?" they whispered to her.

"Tamaki-senpai's cousin," shrugged Haruhi.

"He…has a cousin?" asked Hikaru and Kaoru blankly, as they stared at Tamaki and Kunio.

"What is the Host Club, anyway?" asked Kunio. "Perhaps you'd take time to explain it to me."

"I would, except I'm afraid you might not comprehend it," Tamaki shot back, his fists clenching tightly at his sides. He was getting more agitated with each passing moment.

"Try me," smirked Kunio, leaning in closer to Tamaki. "Maybe I can decipher what you're trying to say through your stutters. That's all you did when you were little, anyway. Stammer. Was it because I made you nervous?"

"Y-You don't make me nervous!" Tamaki defied in a useless way. "If you weren't drunk half the time you even came over to my house…!"

Haruhi titled her head to one side in thought. _I think…this goes a little beyond Tamaki-senpai being sore because Kunio-senpai took his bear hostage…_

"Hmm, someone who can make m'lord angry enough to have an actual word fight instead of screaming to demonstrate his point," Hikaru and Kaoru grinned, leaning forward in interest. "This should be interesting."

Hunny tapped Kyoya's shoulder as Mori walked closer to him. "Kyoya?" he asked. "Why does Tama-chan seem to hate his cousin? Aren't cousins supposed to love each other?" he added, frowning down at Mori in confusion. Mori coughed in an embarrassed manner. Thank God no one noticed his subtle reaction[or else more questions would be roused.

"Tamaki and his cousin never liked each other," said Kyoya, leaning back in his chair and sighing. "Not since…" He paused, shrugged, and looked away, not wanting to finish his sentence.

_So Tamaki-senpai's told Kyoya-senpai's what's wrong? _Haruhi thought. She made a point to question him further later.

"Why don't you _leave?_" Tamaki asked Kunio, pointing to the door. "I assume you can walk yourself out."

Kunio grinned. "Dinner last night with your father was great, Tamaki. Did you know we talked about you?"

Tamaki clenched his jaw. "I don't want to hear it."

"Really? It's very interesting, what he said. It wasn't positive, of course," added Kunio with a small chuckle.

Being defeated at this aspect, Tamaki hung his head, gritting his teeth with anger, yet not saying anything more.

A determined look passed over Haruhi's features. Balling her fists at her sides, she marched up to them. "The Host Club is for guests to relax and enjoy themselves," she told Kunio in a hard voice, glaring up at him, hands on her hips. "Not for the guests to take out their grudges on certain Host members."

"H-Haruhi, don't get involved," Tamaki began, taking her arm. "I can handle it!"

"Senpai, I hardly call yelling at each other 'handling it.'"

Kunio frowned. His eyes scanned Haruhi's body. Then…his grin returned. The light bulb inside his mind clicked on at full, bright force.

"Didn't know you had him defending you," he chuckled, making eye contact with Tamaki once more. He leaned in towards his ear. In soft tones, he said for only Tamaki to hear, "Curious situation, cousin. I thought the Host Club was for only males to be in?"

Pulling back, he grinned at Tamaki's frozen face. He turned and began to walk out. "Oh, and before I forget," he said, stopping at the doorway. "Your father invited me for dinner again…and he expects you to be there." Kunio nodded a 'goodbye' to the rest of the Host Club, and left.

There was a moment of silence. "He's weird," the twins announced. Mori glared at where he disappeared, his grip tightening around Hunny's ankles.

"Perhaps…he needs cake?" suggested Hunny with a shrug, resting his head on Mori's head. He sighed wearily. "Takashi, I'm tired…"

Kyoya glanced at Tamaki, who was standing in the same place he was before, rigid and tense. "I wouldn't take it to heart," he told him.

Tamaki turned towards Kyoya, an established frown creasing his face. "Kyoya."

"What?" asked Kyoya with a raised eyebrow.

"I've decided on the next event!"

Hunny gasped, brightening. "What, what?"

"A competition to see who can murder Kunio first?" the twins snorted, closing their eyes and leaning against each other's backs. They hadn't taken a liking to Tamaki's cousin either.

Raising his fist high in the air, Tamaki proclaimed, "A musical!"

His words thundered and hung in the atmosphere. With a cough, the twins edged away, covering their mouths to smother their laughs.

Haruhi shook her head, looking off into the distance. "Weird…"

"What's so funny about a musical?!" Snatching Mori's book off the table, Tamaki took off chasing the twins, his book as his weapon.

"It's because of the dinner," Kyoya said absently.

Haruhi turned to look at Kyoya. "Hmm?"

"It's because of the dinner he has to go tonight with Kunio," Kyoya muttered, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He looked at Haruhi with knowing eyes. "Don't you think so?"

She frowned. Tilted her head to look at Tamaki, who was gaining on the twins with terrifying speed. _That means Tamaki-senpai…is stressed out?_

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x**

**The Suoh Residence, 1****st**** mansion.**

Tamaki closed his eyes in irritation, pushing his food on his plate from one side to the other with his heavy silver fork. He sat in his chair in an erect, unbreakable posture as his father and Kunio talked about school across the table, how Kunio liked it in Japan, etc.

"I assume Tamaki's showing you around considerably enough, right?" asked Yuzuru Suoh, staring questionably into his son's face.

His eyes opening, Tamaki stared emotionlessly at Kunio and his father. "No," he replied in a flat tone.

Yuzuru's eye twitched. "No?" he repeated.

"It doesn't matter, though," Kunio broke in smoothly, taking a sip of his water. "Tamaki's been busy with the 'Host Club' lately, so I'm sure he had little time on his hands to spare."

"I should hope that he's making every effort possible to make your stay comfortable," Yuzuru said, still frowning in Tamaki's direction.

Tamaki was unconcerned. Picking up his chopsticks beside his plate, he made his sushi attack his salad by dropping it into the dressing and smearing it around with the two sticks between his fingers. _If only I was having Haruhi's cooking…_he thought, sighing, his posture slackening.

"I'm glad that your mother could spare you to go on this exchange," Yuzuru continued, smiling in Kunio's direction. "When she wrote me a few weeks back saying how she'd rather, what was the phrase?, 'cut her right hand off' than give over her son to Japan for a year, I thought that you'd never convince her."

"It's a good thing I did," said Kunio. He smiled at Tamaki's father, but when he turned his head from Yuzuru's eyes to take another gulp from his cup, his face was the perfect picture of disgust.

Tamaki smirked to himself. _He's just as reluctant to be here as I am. Serves him right! Haha!_

"It's not exactly a year I'll be staying here, though," said Kunio, turning his head to Tamaki's father. "I'm not sure how long Ouran will want me."

"Nonsense, they'll want you for as long as you can stay," Yuzuru chuckled. "Isn't that right, Tamaki?" He glared in his son's direction, trying to lasso him into the conversation.

"Hai," said Tamaki blandly, looking off to the side.

Yuzuru clenched his napkin, beginning to get agitated. "Tamaki," he said in a hard voice. "Make a mental note to yourself to show Kunio to his classes and help him ease into Ouran. You of all people should know how difficult it is to come from a different country in the middle of the year. He should get all the help he can to settle in, such as you got."

"I had help settling in?"

Kunio grinned at him. He was obviously fighting back a smart comment to say to that; to put Tamaki down, of course.

His father sighed long and hard; and no longer addressed him. Turning his head, he smiled at Kunio. "So, Kunio…"

"Wait, Oto-san!" Tamaki sat up straight as his voice boomed, trying to look professional. "I need a sponsor for the Host Club!"

His father turned his head, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"I'm thinking about starting a musical. Of course, this requires props, costumes, and another hired orchestra so I was thinking—"

"Tell me how your classes are, Kunio," Tamaki's father said, completely cutting Tamaki off.

"Eh?!" Tamaki fumed, crossing his arms and sinking deeper into his chair.

"Classes are…good…" Kunio replied slowly, giving Tamaki a strange look. "I'm sorry, I'm just curious. Why are you thinking of hosting a _musical_?"

"Not _hosting _it, _performing_ it!" Tamaki cried, flourishing his hand high. "That way—"

"You can dress up Miss Fujioka in a pretty little outfit for your pleasure?" Kunio smirked, narrowing his eyes at Tamaki.

Tamaki stood, slamming his palms on the table. "Don't talk about her in graphic terms!" he shouted, pointing dead at him.

"Graphic terms? I'm just guessing WHY you want to put on this 'musical'." Kunio shrugged, slouching back in his chair and shoving his hands in his pockets. "Isn't that why you put on all those events? The masquerade? The dances that everyone keeps raving about that occurred in the past?"

"Those were Kyoya's ideas, not mine!"

"Kyoya? Who the heck is that?"

Yuzuru sighed deeply, sinking back into his chair and closing his eyes. He gave up trying to maintain order.

"Although, I can't blame you," Kunio went on, his grin returning. "Haruhi in a dress _would _be something to see. Especially since she dresses like a guy all the time."

Yuzuru opened an eye, a curious expression on his face.

Tamaki leaned forward on his palms, glaring deep in Kunio's blue eyes. "Listen to me," he growled. "Don't go near Haruhi. Not one step near her."

Kunio chuckled. "Or what?"

Tamaki continued scowling; he didn't really know. Turning, he faced the doorway, sticking his hands into his pockets. "Not now," he said darkly, with dramatic imposture.

Kunio and Yuzuru only stared in confusion at how out of character that sounded.

With a heavy yank, Tamaki opened the door in front of him. Feeling he didn't have to wait for Kunio's reply, he walked out into the hall.

The two remaining members of the family sitting at the table gave each other a look. "Sorry about that," Kunio sighed, sticking his fork into his mouth that was piled was food. "Things don't seem to have changed, since when we met in France."

Yuzuru nodded. "I see…"

Outside the dining hall, Tamaki sighed and leaned against the wall, arms crossed, his vision averting to the floor. He scowled at the polished floorboards. Digging around in his pocket, he flicked out his cell-phone and hovered his finger over the first button of Kyoya's number. For once, he thought before he rang: _Should I bother Kyoya about this…?_

Laughter reached his ears; his father's laughter, as Kunio said a joke to lighten up the mood. Tamaki went to the phone's menu, and clicked on the button that enabled him to send a text message. Punching in Kyoya's number, he wrote in the message box: "He's taking the place I never had."

Tamaki stared at his message. Frowned. Clicking 'Cancel', he shoved the phone back into his pocket angrily, walking away from the dining hall, his destination the double doors out of that shadowed building.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x**

**Because someone very kindly pointed out to me, I will from now on adding the translation of the Japanese words at the beginning of the story. But I couldn't' find any in here (I think) except for Tono, which is explained up top.**

**But I think all you guys knew that (or not, that's okay too…). If I miss any Japanese words in the upcoming chapters, please let me know! P**

**-KuroHinote**

**P,s. Oh yes, thank you for reviewing :) (you better review!! –gives the evils-)**


	5. Tamaki no Kanashimi

**A/N: Garr. My stupid depressing life. It's making my fanfiction sad. -.- When I'm unhappy, for some reason, I take it out on Tamaki…He's so vulnerable. It WILL get happy soon—I swear it! I swear it! –watches in devastation as people file out of the shadowed room- Noooo!**

**Disclaimer: **Damn you people. I do not own OHSHC. Else these plotlines—these would be EPISODES! HaHA!

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x**

**Ongaku no heya: **Music Room

**Daijoubu desu ka?: **Are you all right/okay?

**Kirei: **beautiful

**Gomen: **informal version of 'Gomenasai', which means 'Sorry'.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.**

_Chapter 5: Tamaki no Kanashimi._

**Recap:**

Outside the dining hall, Tamaki sighed and leaned against the wall, arms crossed, his vision averting to the floor. He scowled at the polished floorboards. Digging around in his pocket, he flicked out his cell-phone and hovered his finger over the first button of Kyoya's number. For once, he thought before he rang: _Should I bother Kyoya about this…?_

Laughter reached his ears; his father's laughter, as Kunio said a joke to lighten up the mood. Tamaki went to the phone's menu, and clicked on the button that enabled him to send a text message. Punching in Kyoya's number, he wrote in the message box: "He's taking the place I never had."

Tamaki stared at his message. Frowned. Clicking 'Cancel', he shoved the phone back into his pocket angrily, walking away from the dining hall, his destination the double doors out of that shadowed building.

**Story:**

**The next day, during Host Club hours: Ongaku no heya ((Music Room**

"Kaoru…how could I?"

"Hikaru…"

"How could I have left you in hurt and pain, to dance with that girl at the masquerade? You must have been devastated."

"No, Hikaru…"

"Kaoru…I…" Hikaru took his brothers into his arms and stared into his tearful eyes. "I'm sorry…"

"Hikaru…" Kaoru whispered, emotional tears forming on the rims of his eyes as their faces became within centimetres of contact.

The girls behind them screamed, love hearts replacing their eyes. "WHAT WONDERFUL BROTHERLY LOVE!" they squealed.

"Again…?" Haruhi sighed as she passed them with a tray of boiling tea.

Hikaru and Kaoru broke from their embrace, one fist on each other their hips, as they grinned at her. "What's bothering you today, Haruhi?"

"If you could get senpai to stop pestering me about the musical, that would be helpful…" Haruhi said, looking to the back of her with an irritated glance.

"No, no, Haruhi!" Tamaki cried, sprinting after her. "I've got it, I've got it! You can be the distressed bride engaged to the evil count, and I can be—"

"NO."

"But, Haruhi—"

"NO. I'm not getting married, in a musical or real life."

"Not even in this dress?" Tamaki sniffed, holding up the white dress from yesterday with a pathetic gaze.

"No, and that's final." With that, Haruhi kept walking towards Hunny and Mori. "Sorry it's late," she sighed as she set the tea down on the table. "Senpai wouldn't stop pestering me…"

"…About the musical?" Mori finished for her.

Haruhi blinked at him. "Yes, actually…"

"That's all right, Haru-chan!" Hunny chimed, shoving a piece of cake into his mouth. "You went as fast as you could!"

"Haruhi-hi," Tamaki sobbed behind them, falling to his knees and hanging his head. "Why don't you—Hmm?" He stopped short and frowned as a piece of paper flittered out of his blazer pocket as his knees collided with the ground. Carefully, he picked it up. It was the algebra homework that his mysterious princesses had dropped when she was being abducted. He smoothed it out and sighed, frustrated.

"Still haven't found her yet?"

Tamaki cried out in surprise, spinning to meet he twins. "N-No!" he stammered.

The twins shrugged, sighing. "A shame, really…"

"A shame?" Tamaki gasped, clutching the paper to his chest. "Did she get an answer wrong in one of the math problems?" He held the homework close to his eyes, studying it intently.

Hikaru and Kaoru waved their hands dismissively. "No, no. What we mean is, we thought you were in love with Haruhi, that's all."

Tamaki's face went blank. A line went over his head. "Haru…hi?"

Another frustrated simultaneous sigh. Hikaru shrugged his shoulders, hands raised in the air. "Well, you're so intent on finding this 'dance partner' of yours—"

"—that your attention is diverting away from your desires for Haruhi," ended Kaoru, holding his arms the same as his brother.

"Th-That's nonsense!" the King stuttered, waving his arms in the air. "Why would I be in love with Haruhi?! She's my daughter, you perverted twins! Just because you encourage incest every day by—"

"We only thought, we only thought," the twins assured him. A grin spreading over their faces, they said, "Although, the mysterious dance partner of yours MIGHT be Haruhi…then what can you say, m'lord?"

"…m-might be…Haruhi?"

They had lost interest in talking about it, however. Sighing, Hikaru leaned against Kaoru, whining, "Kaoru, I haven't eaten since lunch. Let's go steal one of Hunny-senpai's cakes."

"Sounds like a good idea," Kaoru agreed, and they both crept over to Hunny, their minds set on persuading him to hand over some of his food.

Tamaki kept staring at the homework, at the ground, new issues unravelling in his mind. _I…love Haruhi? _He turned his head in Haruhi's direction. She was smiling graciously to a group of her fans, casually talking as love-hearts formed around their heads. Hunny bounced over to her, his cakes piled in his hands. He cried about how Hikaru and Kaoru were trying to steal them.

Tamaki frown deepened as she bent next to him, patting his hand and assuring him that Hikaru and Kaoru would never really do such a thing. She offered to hide them in the storage room for him.

"No, no, they'll steal them there too!"

"Hey, Hunny-senpai…" said Hikaru and Kaoru spookily, appearing on either side of Hunny, their faces dark. Crying out in terror, Hunny took off running again.

Haruhi looked after them with an exasperated look and sighed. She turned her head to Tamaki, who was staring straight at her. She tilted her head in confusion, then smiled awkwardly.

'_I love Haruhi?' _was all Tamaki could run through his mind.

Shrugging, and assuming Tamaki was just swamped in his fantasies again, Haruhi turned back towards her guests.

_If I do…why is this mystery princess taking her place in my mind? _Tamaki suddenly gasped, slapping his hands on his cheeks as his mouth formed into a large 'O'. "It's because I…I danced with a witch who is replacing my true feelings with falsehood!!" he cried.

As he sat there, white with shock, Haruhi passed by him carrying an empty tray and asked, "Still dreaming of things that can never be, senpai…?"

He broke from his shock, waving his arms about, crying, "Shut up, shut up! I'm in grave peril!"

"Uh huh."

"Haruhi, you must listen to me!"

"Senpai, I'm not playing as a bride."

"No, no, not that! There's a witch, and she—"

"Tamaki-kun…" someone began shyly.

Tamaki halted, spinning around to meet the girl who had asked for him. He smiled graciously, bending down before her and taking her hand softly in his. "Princess," he breathed. "How little I come across such a beautiful face…"

"Oh, boy," Haruhi sighed with a roll of her eyes, continuing her journey to one of the tables.

The girl blushed furiously and pointed to a group of girls on the couch. "We were wondering…if you weren't busy…if we could ask you about something?"

"Of course," Tamaki said, smiling brightly and leading her to the couch. He stood over them, hands behind his back, his lips curved in a smile. "How can I help you ladies?'

"Tamaki-kun," one of the girls with short black hair piped up, "we met Kunio-kun today. He's in our biology class. He says that he's your cousin. Why did you not tell us you had such a kind relative?" she asked, her eyes going starry at the thought of the handsome Kunio. The rest of the girls behind her did the same.

Haruhi, who had harboured not too far away from them, stopped pouring tea for a moment to turn and frown at Tamaki's face. It had gone rigid—as it always did at the mention of his cousin.

A small frown appearing on his face, Tamaki replied, "I didn't find the need."

The girls' eyes widened. They huddled together and shuddered as his cold look practically chilled the room into an ice cube. Haruhi blinked in surprise, not accustomed to seeing such a harsh look on his face.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kyoya gesturing for the twins. Hikaru and Kaoru frowned, inching over to Kyoya and bending down as he muttered something to them that was inaudible. A few times he gestured over to Tamaki and the group of girls. The twins nodded dutifully, their fists clenched in a determined way.

Haruhi frowned, wondering what he could have been whispering to the twins. She turned her head back to the scene with Tamaki and the girls as one of them asked, "Tamaki-kun? Did I say…something wrong?"

Tamaki kept his irritated look on his face as he pictured Kunio in his mind. His eyebrow twitched. "Absolutely…nothing," he growled.

A crash reached everyone's ears from a few feet away. Haruhi and the rest of the guests' heads turned at the sound. Kaoru lay sprawled on the ground, his eyes squeezed shut in pain as he held his arm.

"Kaoru!" Hikaru shouted, sprinting over to him. "Kaoru, daijoubu desu ka?!" He bent down beside him, picking Kaoru from the ground and cradling his head in his lap. He brushed his brother's hair back from his face, frowning worriedly down at him. "Kaoru?"

"I'm fine…" Kaoru assured him, managing a small smile up at his distressed brother. "It was clumsy of me to fall over that table…"

Hikaru shook his head forcefully. "Never," he breathed, helping Kaoru to his knees and taking his face into his hands. He stared into his tear-glistened eyes. The girls held their breath and waited in anticipation, wondering what would happen next.

Haruhi raised a skeptical eyebrow and stared.

"You're…graceful enough to me…in bed…" Hikaru uttered, bending his face inches towards Kaoru. Since the room was so quiet, everyone easily heard.

"H-Hikaru," Kaoru whispered, blushing furiously. "Everyone will know now!"

Tamaki's fan girls leaped to their feet, squealing. They gathered around the fallen twins, dabbing their eyes with a handkerchief. "Kirei!" they chorused tearfully.

Haruhi rolled her eyes at their emotional scene. She stole the free moment to step up to Tamaki, who was still standing, fuming over his cousin. "S-Senpai?" she asked cautiously.

He looked down at her, jostled from his thoughts. He sighed, his eyes softening as he made eye contact with her wondering brown eyes. Taking a step towards her, he took her wrist and pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms gently around her. She blinked in surprised and blushed at the touch.

"Gomen…" he whispered to her. His voice was as soft as dust falling upon her ear.

Haruhi could only stand there in his arms, frozen, unable to move; not wanting to move. "F-For what, senpai?" she asked in amazement.

He just kept holding her. As if he didn't want to let go. For another moment they stood like that. Haruhi didn't ask any more questions.

Finally, he broke away, his face closer to hers that it had ever been. She saw his eyes

up-close to hers: his penetrating violet eyes that so often saw into her thoughts.Transfixed, she was startled when he abruptly pulled away, letting go of her arms. He let out a frustrated sigh, his eyes wandering from hers, off to the side. Forking back his blonde hair in an agitated way, he muttered, "Nothing," and strode away from her, past the twins' scene, past the surprised Kyoya, out the door of the music room. The slam of it echoed in Haruhi's ears as she stared at where he disappeared.

_In…his eyes…_

Her eyes widened. A flashback from the night of the masquerade hit her, when she was gazing into her partner's white mask, through the eyeholes, past the material. She remembered his eyes: violet, penetrating.

For some curious reason, Tamaki's eyes…

And her mysterious prince's eyes…

Were exactly the same.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

**In the field behind Ouran, on a bench by the trees**

"Haruhi-kun, aren't you going home yet?"

Haruhi turned her head, looking up at a few girls standing over her, frowning down worriedly. She nodded, smiling. "Don't worry. I will in a moment. I'm just…thinking for a bit."

The girls nodded, giving her a soft smile. "All right, Haruhi-kun. See you tomorrow!" they called, giving her a wave before they ran off.

Haruhi's smile disappeared as she turned back to where she was staring before: at the ground. She clenched her schoolbag tightly, letting out a small sigh. She shivered as she realized how cold it was.

_Senpai…acted so oddly… _

She remembered how that cold, frosty look had gone over his face at the mere mention of Kunio. She remembered his spontaneous hug; not one of his glomps, but a tender, gentle, _real _hug. It meant something more that time. And his apology…apology for what?

_I know it adds to something…but I don't know what he means._

She sighed, finding all the clues Tamaki was throwing out there very confusing. She knew that something was wrong with him. Something was bothering him. Just with senpai…there was no easy way he could tell you when something was upsetting him.

A tall shadow fell over her, darkening the grass in front of her. Turning, she squinted against the sun and saw a tall young man standing over her. His blonde hair glinted in the sunlight.

"Senpai?" she asked hopefully. Shading her eyes from the light, she saw Kunio grinning down at her. "Oh." Her tone became suddenly flat.

Kunio chuckled at her disappointment. "Hello, Miss Fujioka," he greeted, going round to the other side of the bench to stand in front of her. One hand in his pocket, he leaned on his opposite leg. He sighed, shaking his head. "You know, you really fooled me. I thought you were simply a boy with girlish features."

Haruhi frowned up at him. One of the hands that rested on her legs tightened. "Tamaki-senpai won't like that you found out."

"He never seems to like anything I know," said Kunio with a shrug, a smirk appearing on his face.

Haruhi stared into his blue eyes. "How…are you enjoying your classes?" she asked, deciding to veer the conversation in a different direction.

"Classes? Why should you wonder about my classes?"

Blinking in confusion, Haruhi said, "Well…it's polite to ask a new student how they're going in their studies."

Kunio chuckled, forking back his hair in an almost embarrassed way, plopping down on the bench, next to her. "Oh, yeah, I forgot the Japanese were so considerate." He grinned at Haruhi, a shine entering his eye. "You want to know the first thing that freaked me out about this place?"

Haruhi shook her head. "No…"

"Just guess," Kunio urged. "I'm sure it's not hard."

"Um…" Haruhi tapped her chin in thought, looking towards the sky. She felt Kunio's eyes on her, anticipating what her speculation would be.

"The…food?"

With a chuckle, he said, "I thought you might say that. But it's the wrong answer, unfortunately. What really horrified me was the _manners._"

"Manners?"

"Yeah, the way everyone was bowing to each other, how polite they were, how tidy everyone's eating habits were. Especially here at Ouran. To eat with your fingers would be appalling to everyone else!"

Haruhi raised an eyebrow at Tamaki's cousin. Maybe he was trying to connect with her. Maybe that's why he was talking about such a random subject. "Oh, the manners," she said stupidly, trying to act like she knew what he meant. "I guess it can seem strange…to someone foreign." She bit her lip. What a dead way to end a sentence. There was a moment of silence as she averted her eyes to her hands, as her fingers fumbled with one another.

_You are forbidden to speak with him. Hang around with him. Do anything that involves interacting with him._

Haruhi's head shot up and her eyes widened as she remembered Tamaki's words. He had called Kunio 'dangerous'. 'Not right in the head'. She snuck a gaze in his direction. Kunio had occupied himself during the silence by picking off a loose thread on the hem of his blazer, his brow clenched in concentration. He didn't SEEM harmful.

_There _has_ to be a reason why Senpai is so against him._

"Do you and Tamaki-senpai have a bad past?" She couldn't help it. The words just ripped themselves from her.

Kunio looked up in surprise, the loose thread forgotten. His deep blue eyes were bewildered. "Do we have a bad past? What kind of question is that? Even stupider than the classes one."

Haruhi mentally kicked herself. "What I mean is…you two seem so determined to hate each other. If two hate each other, it has to be because of your past. In France. It'd make more sense, why you two are fighting, if you explained it."

His face relaxing into a grin, Kunio asked, "You're really blunt, aren't you?"

Haruhi shrugged.

Letting out a sigh, he rested his hands against the back of the bench and leaned his body's weight against his thin arms. He frowned towards the sky. "You seem like an intelligent enough girl, Haruhi Fujioka. I'll tell you the whole story." He turned to grin at her. "Then you can fit the pieces together yourself."

"I'll try," said Haruhi slowly, a frown creasing her face.

Quietly clearing his throat, Kunio launched into his story, his words at first hesitant and thoughtfully put, then strung together with more speed as his explanation went on. "My Dad died when I was 4. I couldn't care less, being too young to even comprehend his importance, but my mother freaked. He made 98 of the income, the money that we survived off of, so everything rocketed downhill. Because my mom suddenly had to work, I was never home, and I had more freedom. When I was older, I went out into the streets more often after school. Made a few friends on the 'darker side' of town, you could say. I guess Tamaki was afraid of me for this.

"I always used to go over to his house, because his mother—my aunt—was constantly sick, and my mom always had to go over to take care of her. I tried to be friends with Tamaki, but he really was weird. Even as a kid he was acting out dramatic love scenes with his bear as the lead character and his stuffed rabbit or something as the damsel in distress. Half the time he'd spend hours and hours daydreaming about his future castle, family, and wife. He was a really strange kid."

Haruhi couldn't help but grin at this piece of information about her eccentric senpai. _Even at childhood…_she thought with an internal laugh.

"He always had a grudge against me," Kunio went on, his tone becoming darker. "A grudge against me, just because me and my mother lived in a dirty old shack with the rats making homes in our kitchen's corners. We were poorer; therefore the lesser. He always treated me such as that."

"I can't imagine Senpai being that way," Haruhi cut in, her face confused. "He never judges people on their material possessions, not from what I've seen. Are you sure…"

"Let me finish, Haruhi. Your senpai isn't always as he appears to be, I assure you."

Haruhi crossed her arms, annoyed at being interrupted, her face in a disapproving scowl.

"Anyways, the ending to my story that practically sums everything up is when I got into a fight with this annoying college kid, that I gave a pretty bad blow to. Everyone was horrified because I had put him into the hospital with the wounds I gave him, and Tamaki jumped at the chance to degrade me for what I'd done. We got into a huge fight, a few weeks before he left. We still haven't cooled off from it."

Haruhi nodded slowly, taking it in. She frowned, remembering the hatred in Tamaki's eyes. But that wasn't the only thing. There was always something else in his expression, mingling with his anger towards Kunio…

"Did that get through to you?" Kunio asked with a smile in her direction.  
"It…explains a few things," said Haruhi truthfully.

His grin growing, Kunio slid closer to her on the bench, so that his leg was centimetres from hers. "Now I see why Tamaki kept your gender a secret," he chuckled, eyes glinting.

Suddenly on her guard, Haruhi stiffened as his arm brushed against hers. "H-How did you come to that conclusion?" she asked, managing to keep her voice even and strong, despite her discomfort.

"So he can have you all to himself, eh?" went on Kunio with a wink.

Her eyebrows raising high, Haruhi replied sharply, "First of all, it's my choice to hide my true gender, and second of all, he's never 'had me all to himself', not once. You have the completely wrong idea."

"Ah, yes, but you'd like him to have you, wouldn't you?" Kunio raised an eyebrow challengingly.

Her brown eyes widened. Taken off guard, she could only stammer in shock, "I-I—"

"Ah," said a deep, blank voice behind them.

Simultaneously, Haruhi and Kunio's head raised to see Mori standing high over them—and I DO mean, high over them—with Hunny perched on an even taller height on his shoulders.

"Don't you have somewhere to go?" Although Mori's voice was monotoned, he made his point to Kunio very vividly.

Seeing the threat, Tamaki's cousin stood up, taking a step back from Haruhi, giving Mori a casual salute. "Just goin', chief." His smile flashed in Haruhi's direction. His eyelid flicked into a subtle wink at her. "Glad we had this talk."

Haruhi nodded stiffly, her lips tight. She didn't care for him to stay another moment.

Sticking his hands in his pockets, striking up a casual tune by blowing the air through his pursed lips, Kunio sauntered away from the three, towards the exit beyond the trees.

"Yay, Takashi scared him off!" cried Hunny, burying his face into Mori's hair and grinning.

"Did he bother you, Haruhi?" asked Mori as Hunny celebrated.

With a shake of her head, Haruhi said, "No…we just…talked."

"About Tama-chan?" Hunny looked into her eyes with a stony gaze, abruptly serious.

"Yes. He…explained a few things."

Mori nodded, looking off into the distance. "Tamaki does seem to have a problem with Kunio."

"A deeper one than I imagined. It seems to go past a grudge," Haruhi sighed, feeling familiar worry twist her heart.

"I thought as much," Mori replied.

"I wonder why…Tama-chan's not telling us." Hunny's face drooped. "He only tells Kyoya about these things."

Haruhi slumped her small shoulders, looking hopelessly lost on what to think about their depressed and angry King. "I…don't know."

Her prince's mysterious violet eyes popped in her mind, and Tamaki's embrace.

_In his eyes, when Kunio is mentioned…there's not only anger in his face, but…_

A frown twisted her features. _Sadness. _

As she, Mori and Hunny all were silent as they thought, she could have sworn that as the trees swayed in the wind, whispering a gentle breeze, that she heard Tamaki's soft, soothing voice floating on the currents.

_Gomen…._

_But why should he apologize? Why should he apologize…about being sad?_

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**Hmmm…for some reason some of you didn't like the previous chapter. If you want to, I can make modifications…its just that no one's telling me WHAT they don't like about it. So, please, if you have a disagreement/criticism, shout it! Well, not literally, but ya know…**

**Now all go treat yourself. Like gorging yourself with pizza, like I just did! It's fun, really….Oh, but first, review please. **

**-KuroHinote **


	6. Emotional Breakthrough

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**Translations:**

**Nani?: **what?

**Ongaku no heya wa soto ni arimasu: **Outside of the Music Room

**Baka: **stupid

**Bakana: **featherhead; I found this while flipping through a Japanese dictionary one time. Quite a useful word to shout…

_Chapter 6. _

**Recap:**

"I wonder why…Tama-chan's not telling us." Hunny's face drooped. "He only tells Kyoya about these things."

Haruhi slumped her small shoulders, looking hopelessly lost on what to think about their depressed and angry King. "I…don't know."

Her prince's mysterious violet eyes popped in her mind, and Tamaki's embrace.

_In his eyes…when Kunio is mentioned…there's not only anger in his face, but…_

A frown twisted her features. _Sadness. _

_But why should he apologize? Why should he apologize…about being sad?_

**Story:**

**The same day, in the Music Room, 6:55**

Kyoya tapped his pencil absent-mindedly against his knee, leaning back in his chair. With a frown, he speculated his friend across the table from behind his glasses. Tamaki stared out the window, chin propped in his palm, his half-open eyes soaking in the last of the sun's rays as it set slowly in the sky.

"You can't pretend that it doesn't bother you."

Tamaki broke from his thoughts, startled. "W-What?" He looked at Kyoya with a bewildered gaze.

"Kunio's presence here. You shove it in the dark."

With a shrug, Tamaki fingered the lacy serviette on the wooden table, frowning at his reflection in the shiny surface. He saw a weary, unhappy teenager staring back at him, pleading. Pleading to escape his sudden melancholy that had crept upon him on his cousin's plane and disarmed him within a day of Kunio's arrival. "Maybe a little…" he said softly.

Kyoya sighed and crossed his arms, silent. He waited for Tamaki to say more; that was how he got the information out of him, after all. When one is quiet around Tamaki, one hears a lot of his secrets and thoughts.

With a frustrated breath, Tamaki went on, "When…I was back in France, Oka-san was always sick. She used to have fevers for days on end. I never wanted to leave her during those times, so straight away when I got out of school, I went home. Even on weekdays. I turned down every play-date offer I got. I was always cooped up in the house; not that it was a bad thing. It's just that…I never made any friends."

Raising an eyebrow, Kyoya looked on the verge of saying something; but thought better of it.

"Kunio was practically the only person my age I saw outside of school. It wasn't Oka-san's fault, that I was…maybe lonely at times, and she wasn't a nuisance; her sickness simply confined me, and I always felt guilty when I left her, even for school." He slumped against his chair, hanging his head towards his reflection in the table. "I can't explain it."

"Uh huh…"

Tamaki looked up with a hurt glance. "Are you even listening?"

"Of course. But I've heard all this from you before. Why are you repeating the remembrance of old pains?"

Tamaki fingered the lace napkin, hesitant to answer. "Every time I look at Kunio, he reminds me of it. My past in France. What happened…before I came here."

Kyoya's expression softened. He nodded. "I see." A pause. "But why should that bother you?" he asked. He always thought Tamaki to take it into stride and move on.

A moment of silence passed; murmured voices of teachers and footsteps passed the music room and receded. When Tamaki looked up to make eye contact with his friend once again, his eyes were wet at the brim. "I miss her," he admitted in a small whisper.

Kyoya blinked in surprise, realizing what was welling up in Tamaki's eyes. He sat, stricken, his pencil ceasing to move. He had never seen Tamaki cry before. He let out a sigh, scowling down at his knee. His pencil commenced to tap against his leg once again, this time in a more agitated way.

"I…can tell," was all he said. He couldn't think of anything else.

Tamaki hung his head again, to avoid Kyoya from seeing any more emotion writ on his face. As he did, a tear dropped from his violet eye and splashed onto the wood of the table. He trailed one finger across his cheek, to wipe it away.

He couldn't explain why the tears were falling so heavily. Usually he hid his sadness well enough in public, without revealing too much of what he felt. It was just…Kunio. Ever since Kunio came, he was complicating things. Leaving his life in a tattered web of confusion, like he always did. He didn't want to be reminded of his memories, his past. He let out a heavy sigh, fingering the pointy stem of a white rose that was draped across the table by his hand.

Kyoya's voice shattered the silence. "It doesn't matter," he said.

Tamaki looked up to make eye contact with him once again, blurry eyes holding surprise. "Nani…?"

"You can cry as much as you want. It doesn't make sense how you're trying to hide it. It doesn't matter if you cry or laugh in front of people," Kyoya told him, looking down at the ground with closed eyes, so to avoid his gaze.

Rubbing his sleeve against his cheek, Tamaki smiled softly. "No…I'm done now." He stood and, pushing his teacup further towards the middle of the table, overrun the rose that was wet with his tear. "It's late; we've stayed here for too long."

Kyoya nodded absently, taking a casual look at the clock tower outside of the window. "7:00 already."

Walking on the other side of the table, Tamaki stood above him, smiling down at his friend. "Thank you, Kyoya."

Kyoya blinked in surprise behind his glasses. "Why?"

"For sitting with me. And listening."

A small grin appeared on his face. "Listening? Hardly. I was just thinking of how we're going to balance our loans to the school this term…" he said nonchalantly, pretending to be lost in finance-like thought.

Tamaki's face broke into a happy smile, contrasting with the tears still fresh on his cheeks. "Kyoya!" he cried, wrapping his arms around his friend's neck and nuzzling his cheek against his. "You're my best friend!"

Kyoya groaned. "Yes, yes…"

Breaking away, Tamaki beamed down at him. "The Host Club is on tomorrow, right?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"Just checking!" Tamaki turned on his heel and strode towards the door, bag in hand. "See you tomorrow, Kyoya!"

Kyoya frowned. Something wasn't right. He turned his head and watched Tamaki go, watched his fast pace slow to a defeated walk, watched him slowly open the door and step out of his half-heartedly, his fake cheeriness dropping once he thought that Kyoya was no longer watching.

Turning his head, the pencil tapped harder against Kyoya's leg, now a blur of yellow-coloured wood, angry and unsettled, matching his emotions that were twisting mazes inside him.

"How many moments of a day _does _he fake that life's good for him?" sighed Kyoya.

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**Ongaku no heya wa soto ni arimasu. **

Deciding there was no point in crumbling into a dark corner and bawling his eyes out, which he longed to do, Tamaki made his way down the hall in a dejected way, his shoulders slumped, face lacking his usual smile. The empty halls rang with his steps, making his situation even more depressing.

_I'm alone…although it's been that way ever since I came here, I think…_

He was so swamped in pathetic thought that he didn't notice a rubbish bin in his way, which had been left out in the middle of the hall by the stupid and mindless janitor. Tripping over it, his knees struck the ground, sending a jolt of pain through his legs as he collided with the marble floor. He knelt there, motionless, as the clock tower struck 7:00. He tried to tell himself to get out of his moping mood. To dig himself out of the dark hole he was creating for himself.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, he clenched his fists, forcing himself to his feet. No one was going to come along, scoop him up, nurse his emotional wounds, and coo that it's all right in his ear. No one was going to make his situation any easier. He would have to help himself.

He made his way further down the hall, dazed and unaware of his surroundings. One phrase struck a loud, demanding chord in his head:

_Haruhi makes your situation easier though, doesn't she?_

His eyes widened. Yes, the feel of her inside of his arms had comforted him. His sad emotions had relented. For those blissful moments he held her, the world had evaporated; Kunio didn't exist, his painful move to Japan had never happened, his father and grandmother had never entered and ruled his life, didn't exist. Only Haruhi. The one he held on to when he knew of no one else.

_The only one…_ His pace slowed; his mouth was slightly agape. Why else would he hug her? Why else would he have the desire to do more than hugging her when she was in his arms?

_The baka twins were right! I…_do _love Haruhi…_

He stopped in front of one of the large windows, his silhouette outlined by the setting sun in the distance. "I love her," he told the empty space, seeing how that tasted on his tongue. The words made him smile. "I love Haruhi!" he announced in a stronger voice, one that boomed across the halls, with a sound that was louder than his lonely footsteps.

In less than an instant, his emotions changed. "I love HARUHII!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, taking off into a sprint down the hall, his briefcase banging against his knees behind him, flapping every which way. Like a mad thing, he flew past the dimmed windows, charged with a new energy, exhilarated by this new emotion swelling inside him.

He loved Haruhi, so what the hell was he doing standing in an empty hall moping?

Reaching the end of the hall, he threw his body weight against the double doors, falling into the foyer. He charged down the steps to the bottom floor, swinging around the corners and fumbling for his step as he constantly tripped over his own feet. When he got to the exit, he dashed outside to the back field, looking around wildly at the shadow-drawn field.

The last time he had seen Haruhi when he looked out the window was on a bench, near the trees, sitting alone. He scanned his eyes towards that particular bench; he saw a figure sitting exactly there.

His face broke into a relieved and happy smile. "Haruhi!" he called, waving his bag in the air as a signal. The figure didn't look up; she seemed to be bent over a book of some kind, too absorbed in it to hear him.

This was perfectly fine for Tamaki. He would run to the ends of the earth if only he could confess to her. Clenching his fists, he ran with all his might towards the bench, nearly dropping his briefcase in the process. "Haruhi! Haruhi!"

The figure's head looked up. "What the…"

"Haruhi, I need—" Tamaki halted in front of the bench and the person. His face dropped into a disappointed frown as he caught his breath heavily. "O-Oh."

His classmate, Takeshi or some name he couldn't remember, raised an eyebrow at him sceptically. "What do you want?"

"Uh, sorry, wrong person," Tamaki explained, flustered. His mind momentarily lingered on what would happen if he blurted out his true feelings to Takeshi, thinking he was Haruhi. With a blush, he spun around. "Gomenasai!"

Takeshi stared.

"Actually…" Tamaki turned to look at him once again, smiling nervously. "You didn't happen to see a gi—I-I mean a boy pass here, did you? This tall…" he showed Haruhi's rough height with his hand, "…a year below us…has a feminine look?"

Still staring, Takeshi shook his head, Tamaki Suoh officially becoming an idiot in his mind. "No one's passed me since I came to this bench ten minutes ago."

Tamaki looked blank for a moment, puzzled by this dead end.

_Wait! She MUST be at home!_

Beaming, Tamaki cried, "Yes!" and spun on his heel, running from the bench at full speed.

Takeshi, with a sigh, shook his head and averted his eyes back to his book. A chilling voice interrupted his reading, making his skin prickle.

"What did he want?"

Whipping his head around, he saw a young man of about his age standing in the shadows of the trees, a smirk on his face. "Oh, hey Kunio," Takeshi greeted, locking eyes with his friend. "I thought you were back there."

"So, what did he want?" asked Kunio again, leaning against the back of the bench, raising an eyebrow at Takeshi's casual expression.

"Oh, he was looking for someone," said Takeshi with a small shrug.

"And?"

Takeshi gave him a side-glance. "I didn't get the name. Just a boring description. No one of significance. Why should you care?" he snorted, turning back to his book.

Kunio let out a harsh laugh. "Little do you know, I do." He took Takeshi by the shoulder, spinning him around and looking at him dead in the eye. "You know Haruhi Fujioka, right?"

Takeshi raised an eyebrow and nodded. "'Course. Not only is he in the Host club, which Suoh always obsesses about in class to that Ohtori guy, but also he's basically the genius of his form. He got here on scholarship. Dirt poor, I also heard."

Kunio nodded, taking in that new piece of information. "Really…can you tell me more about him?"

"Just hang around at the Host Club. You'll hear his whole life story. Really, why should you care?"

Kunio paused. "Before I reveal to you why, let me ask you a question: do you like Tamaki Suoh?"

Takeshi's eyes stayed on his book as he answered. "He's an idiot."

"Good answer," Kunio laughed. "Then you won't mind me discussing with you how I plan to smite and humiliate his 'host-like' smile right off his face."

"That's awesome. Go on."

"I think you can guess what I'm going to do. Think about it for a moment: when you're trying to strike a person down, where do you start?"

Weighing his answer on his mind for a moment, Takeshi closed his book and tapped the spine in thought. "You…take his money?"

"Think of your kendo, not your episodes of mugging people in the streets. What does your teacher say to constantly look for in your opponent?"

"His weak-point; duh."

"Exactly," said Kunio, patting his shoulder. "I'll get you to Class A yet."

"Shut up," grumbled Takeshi, shrugging his hand away. "So you're looking for Suoh's weak-point?"

"Just as I said."

"Well, that's his looks, of course. Just disfigure his idiot face, and—"

"Do you always think of violence?" scoffed Kunio, stepping back from Takeshi and shaking his head, crossing his arms over his chest. "This time, I'll play by wit. His other weak-point, besides his pathetic pride, is the exact person I want you to get information about. The person he was looking for."

Takeshi grinned. "Suoh has a secret love interest for Fujioka, eh?"

"You could say that." Kunio stuck his hands in his pockets, straightening to his full height. With a confident grin, he thought to himself, _I'm going to snatch that vulnerable Haruhi from Tamaki's grasp, and there will be no alternative as to stopping me. Not this time._

"I'll even find out what clothes he wears to bed and what toothpaste he uses," said Takeshi, addressing the spaced-out Kunio, "if you pay me ¥2000 up front."

Kunio laughed. "You're a real bakana **((look at translation up top))** if you think I'm going to hand over that kind of money."

Takeshi raised an eyebrow, holding out his palm. "No information, then."

"Bastard," Kunio grumbled, fishing out a few notes from his pocket and slapping them onto his palm. "You better get me that information, ya hear? Down to the last sock he throws into his wash."

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**In Haruhi's neighbourhood**

Tamaki guided himself by sheer memory of where Haruhi's apartment was located. He sprinted down (maybe) her street, dodging pedestrians walking dogs and cars turning into their driveways. Twice someone yelled a curse in his direction, and at least 15 car horns blared into his ears when he ran in front of them. Tamaki couldn't care less.

Rounding in front of a tall apartment building, he stopped short. "It's her landlady!" he shouted in triumph, pointing dead at the elderly woman who was watering flowers in a yard, humming an absent tune.

He must have looked quite mad, with his unbuttoned blazer (that had come loose as he swung around corner after corner), his tie askew on his neck, his hair mangled by the wind. He looked like a street inhibitor more than a student of one of the most prestigious school in the country. Not caring about the strange looks he received, he sprinted up the concrete stairs of Haruhi's apartment block, to her door.

Taking a deep breath, he forced his leaping heart to settle, for his high emotions to decrease just enough so that when she opened the door that he would make sense. With a determined frown, he jammed the doorbell inside the wall.

As he heard the footsteps making their way towards the door, he thought, _Wait! I need an impressionable entrance! _Spinning around, he flicked out a white rose that was so conveniently tucked into his blazer pocket, and poised the words he was going to say on his tongue as he positioned the rose to enter Haruhi's face when she opened the door.

The door began to creak open slowly.

With a rather seductive and suspicious smile, Tamaki turned on his heel, holding the rose the same level as his chin, one fist resting on his hip. "Hello, Haruhi," he said in a low, manly voice.

The little girl at the door blinked, tilting her head to one side. She fingered her short red hair with her small fingers, frowning behind her blue-rimmed glasses on her round face; definitely not Haruhi. "Who are you?" she asked.

Tamaki's eyes widened and he turned a deep red, his masculine facade shattered. "O-Oh, me? W-Well I-I'm—"

Turning, the girl balled up her fists and shrieked at the top of her lungs, "MOMMY! There's a strange person at our door!"

"Child, I am most certainly not a strange person!" Tamaki said in a forceful way, stamping his foot. "Look, just look!" He fished around in his blazer pocket, then whipped out his school I.D, shoving it into her face. "I am an official school of Ouran High School, and I demand entry! I must see Haruhi so I can confess—"

"HE'S TRYING TO HYPNOTIZE ME!" the girl screamed, waving her arms around in terror, smacking Tamaki continuously. "Go away, bad man, go AWAAAYY!"

"Ayaka? Ayaka!" her mother shrieked, appearing in the doorway. "Whatever is the—" She then made eye contact with Tamaki. She didn't see a handsome high school student, innocent and powerless; she saw a dark-eyed thug, leaning over her daughter like an evil shadow, ready to beat her senseless. Letting out a blood-curdling scream, the over-protective mother snatched a closed umbrella that was leaning against the wall and pushed Ayaka behind her, coming straight at Tamaki and whacking him with her weapon. "Stay away from my daughter, you…you horrid beast!"

"That hurts, that hurts!" Tamaki whined, putting his hands over his head and cowering to her blows. "I'm not—"

"Go back to the prison where you came from! Stay away from my daughter!!"

"Satomi-san, what in the world is the matter?!"

Tamaki turned his head enough to see Haruhi swimming in his vision. The blows to his head were doing his eyes some damage. "Haruhi! H-Help me!" he cried pathetically as he was kicked to the ground. He flung a hand in her direction, tears streaming down his cheeks. "I'm being…MURDERED!"

Haruhi stared at him with a blank look. "I'm sure you deserved it," said she in a flat tone.

Mrs. Satomi's umbrella ceased to move. "You mean you know this man?!"

"Yes, of course. He's my senpai at Ouran High School, where I attend. He means no harm; although he tends to scare a lot of people."

With this information, Mrs Satomi sniffed and nodded sharply. "Right. The beating did him good, then." Retreating back into her house, she snapped, "Don't come near my Ayaka again!" and slammed the door on his crumbled form. Ayaka peeking around her mother and sticking her tongue out at Tamaki was the last thing he saw before wood swung into his vision.

With a groan, Tamaki managed to raise himself to his knees. "O-Ow…"

"Senpai, what are you doing here?" Haruhi growled, glaring daggers in his direction.

"H-Haruhi's mad at me, even when I lay wounded and bleeding on the ground?" Tamaki sobbed, burying his face into his hands.

"When you come here terrorizing my neighbours and pull the risk of having me and my father kicked out of our apartment, yes senpai, I will get angry!"

He looked up and blinked at her. She stood with her hands on her hips, scowling down at him with a tense and rigid posture.

"Well? Why are you here?"

He bit his lip, his eyes averting to the ground. Standing, he rubbed his sore arm painfully, wincing as he did. "Oh…no reason, really. Just wanted to say hi…" He gave her a half-hearted smile. "I'll be going now." Turning, he limped towards the stairs, letting out a sigh.

"Hang on…"

He frowned, turning his head. She had moved to where he once lay, crouched towards the ground, fingering a piece of paper. "Why…do you have my homework?" she asked in confusion, looking up at him.

"Your _homework_?" he asked blankly.

"Yes, senpai. This fell from your blazer pocket." Snatching up the sheet, she held it straight in front of his face in a demanding way. "My algebra assignment from days ago."

Tamaki's face went white and his eyes widened to their full size as he came face to face with the sheet that his mysterious princess had dropped.

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**Heh. Cliffie. **

**Review much?**

**-KuroHinote**


	7. The Mask Removed

**Whoosh…7****th**** chapter! We are concluding Part I! There shall be a Part II…soon! (it's amazing, I have this story planned out). Let me take the time to thank all of you for sticking by me, for better chapters or worse. I know my writing at times can be…rocky, let's say haha. Anyways, arigatou for the reviews and support:)**

**Shutting up with the sap. ON WITH THE CHAPTER!**

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_Chapter 7. _

**Recap:**

"Hang on…"

He frowned, turning his head. She ((**Haruhi**)) had moved to where he once lay, crouched towards the ground, fingering a piece of paper. "Why…do you have my homework?" she asked in confusion, looking up at him.

"Your _homework_?" he asked blankly.

"Yes, senpai. This fell from your blazer pocket." Snatching up the sheet, she held it straight in front of his face in a demanding way. "My algebra assignment from days ago."

Tamaki's face went white and his eyes widened to their full size as he came face to face with the sheet that his mysterious princess had dropped.

**Story:**

**The scene hasn't changed, folks.**

"Haruhi…" he said in amazement, looking over the paper to see her face, taunt in a frown. "You're…"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "I what?"

_I danced with her. She's the one I danced with. The one I fell in love with by just simply seeing her. _He studied her short, thin frame, her brown hair that fell over her soft face, her engaging brown eyes that he remembered looking at behind her mask. _Yes…Why didn't I think of it before? _Without warning, he threw his head back and broke into laughter. "I see now!"

Haruhi stared at him blankly. "Huh?"

He doubled over, laughing uncontrollably at the situation.

Haruhi shook her head at her senpai, who had officially collapsed into a laughing fit on the ground. Looking around nervously, she saw that some of the residents of her apartment block were beginning to peek their heads out of their doors, alarmed at whatever was happening.

"Come on, senpai," she grumbled, flushing with embarrassment. Grabbing him by the collar, she yanked him towards her apartment, dragging him across the ground.

"Wait, my rose!" he shouted, snatching the delicate flower from the ground. His laughing fit ceased, as if it never had began, and he soothed the petals of the white flower and frowned worriedly at it as he was dragged through Haruhi's door.

"Get your legs out of the way," she commanded as she slammed the door shut. "What were you THINKING?" She stepped in front of him and spun around, clenching her fists in anger. "First you go barging in on one of my neighbours, then—"

Tamaki looked up at her with innocent eyes, still fingering the petals of his rose. "I'm sorry," he said in a quiet, pathetic voice.

Softening at his gaze, Haruhi let her arms hang at her sides. She sighed. "It's fine, its fine," she said with a wave of her hand. "Do you want to explain to me why that sudden laughing fit came about?"

Tamaki blinked, realizing what had shocked him just a few moments before. "I came here to ask you something," he said, his face relaxing into a graceful smile.

Haruhi cocked an eyebrow high on her brow. "Ask me what, senpai? Are you trying to persuade me about that musical? Because if you are, it won't—"

In one swift motion, he was in front of her, staring down deep into her amber eyes. "No persuasion." Giving her a gentle grin, he bowed low before her, holding out the slightly crumpled rose within her grasp. "Haruhi Fujioka, would you do the honour of dancing with me?"

_What in the world? _"A…dance?" was all she could get out of her mouth. Her look was as vague as anything, eyes full of confusion.

"Yes," Tamaki replied, remaining perfectly normal towards the situation, as if people danced in empty apartments every day. "Please?" he added, a plead twirking at his voice.

"But…." Haruhi looked hesitantly at the rose, purely white and purely innocent. Her eyes travelled to his smiling, confident face. _Well…_ Finally caving to his pleading violet eyes, she took the rose by the stem and then his hand by the wrist. "All right, then, if you want to."

His smile growing into full bloom, Tamaki took the rose from her and tucked it behind her ear. "Now it won't get in the way," he said cheerfully to her perplexed face. Placing his hand on her waist, another grasping her small hand, he led her gracefully into the first steps of a freelance waltz.

Their only music was the ticking of the clock on the wall. Haruhi couldn't help but feel slightly silly, dancing in that way. Yet, the steps that Tamaki led her in were so free, so light, so interesting and complex that she was drawn into them, waiting in anticipation what the next would be. It couldn't be any strict form of dancing; it was Tamaki improvising.

Immediately she was swept away by the mystery of his steps.

_There's something behind this dance…_ She thought as she frowned into his eyes. His smile had gone. He stared at her steadily, wonderingly. After a few moments she blushed under his gaze and looked away. "Wh-What?" she murmured.

"You're so beautiful, Haruhi," her partner breathed.

"Eh?!" She drew back sharply in shock. She tripped over one of her steps as she did so. Chuckling, Tamaki led her into a smooth alternative, by spinning her around in a full circle to improvise for her trip. It was like he anticipated every move she made; knew her so well he knew what she was going to do next.

Her eyes widened as she landed back gently into Tamaki's arms. She stopped the dance, staring into his violet eyes. "You…" she breathed, unable to speak.

Tamaki continued to stare at her with a kind smile, dropping her hands at her sides. "Not…who you were expecting?" he guessed with a wry laugh.

Haruhi shook her head; the motion knocked the rose from behind her ear. Noticing, she held out her hand with a small gasp to catch it; as her fingers grasped it, a few of the thorns pierced her skin.

"Ow," she muttered, as blood appeared on her finger.

"Oh no!" Tamaki cried, grabbing her wrist and gaping at her wound. "My rose damaged your finger!"

"No, don't worry," she said quickly, turning to go to the medicine cabinet outside of the kitchen. "I have bandaids somewhere."

"I'll get them!" Tamaki announced, holding out his hand and running after her.

"I said not to worry, Senpai!" she said over her shoulder as she exited the kitchen.

"It's my rose's fault! I'm fully to blame! Stay in here, Haruhi, and I'll get everything you need to slowly work your way back to health!"

Before I continue, I have to mention that Haruhi's apartment rug really does need to be replaced by something more logical. Throw-rugs and slippery tile floors do not make a happy couple. Haruhi and her father had yet to realize this, despite all the falls they took because of this quarrelling pair. This is a danger to Tamaki's psychical well-being more than often, because as he ran past the small rug, he skidded with an ice-skating affect across the floor into Haruhi just as she entered the hall.

"Senpai!" Haruhi yelped as they both crashed to the ground.

Groaning, Tamaki winced, rolling onto his back. "Pain…" he whispered, arms twitching. "Wait!" He flipped over, bending down next to Haruhi, frowning down at her. "Haruhi, are you okay? I didn't squish you did I?!"

Haruhi shook her head. She had fallen on her knees, and hung her head towards the ground, her hair shadowing her face.

"I did, didn't I?!" Tamaki cried, going into full panic-mode. "Oh no, how could I? I'll call a doctor, Haruhi! Don't worry, you'll—" He stopped in confusion as laughter reached his ears. He blinked down at her, bewildered.

She looked up at him, her face not in pain, but relaxed in laughter. "Senpai…you really are an idiot," she gasped, wiping her eye.

After a moment, Tamaki smiled. "Really?"

Haruhi stopped, raising an eyebrow at him. "Why should you be happy about that?"

"Well…I made you laugh, didn't I? So if I'm stupid, at least I'm using my stupidity for a good cause, right?" he asked, smiling.

"Why should it matter if I laugh or not?" Haruhi asked, expression still skeptical.

"Oh…" Tamaki went a deep red, staring at the floor in an embarrassed way. "It's just that…I like to see you laugh," he said with a small shrug.

Haruhi titled her head to one side. "Eh?"

Shaking his head, Tamaki told her, "Never mind." He took her wrist and frowned at her finger. "It looks like its stopped bleeding…are you sure it doesn't hurt?" He looked at her with worried eyes; with an expression that always seemed to paralyse her shocked. "I still can get a plaster for it…"

Meekly, Haruhi shook her head negatively. "I'm…fine." There was a pause. Soon followed silence, except for their breathing and the faint ticking of the clock. Haruhi thought that Tamaki seemed to take deeper breaths than she; as if he was having trouble getting air into his lungs.

"Why…didn't you tell me that it was you that I danced with that night?"

Momentary surprise flickered across Tamaki's face. "I didn't know either," he admitted. "Not until you said that the algebra homework was yours. You had…dropped it out when you ran off. Well, were dragged off."

"By Hikaru and Kaoru," Haruhi sighed, simmering at the thought.

Tamaki blinked. He had not made that connection. "You were thinking it was someone else besides me, though, right?" he asked, looking down at his hands.

Haruhi stared. "What?"

"Someone like Kunio?" There was a hard edge to his voice.

"What? Kunio?" Haruhi's face twisted in confusion. "Why should I have wished that I danced with Kunio that night?"

Tamaki stared at her in shock. _She doesn't mind me being the person she danced with? _

Returning his surprise with a smile, she continued, "I better go get that bandaid now," standing as if to leave. "I'll be back in a moment."

Tamaki's head whipped forward. He looked up at her in alarm. No. He couldn't lose her. Not again. Not when he found her.

_I have to confess to her. Before someone else steals her away._

On impulse, he grabbed her wrist. She turned, blinking down at him. "Senpai?"

"Wait."

"What is it?"

"I…" He fingered the white rose he had taken from Haruhi in his hands. "I have to confess something….I—OW!" He howled, the thorn on the stem of the rose piercing his skin. Tears prickling his eyes, he sucked his bleeding thumb in pain.

"Oh, you too?" Haruhi asked sympathetically. "I'll get the bandaids right now!" She sprinted into the nearby bathroom; there was a crash, a bit of a scuffle with the drawers, and she came back just as fast. "Here," she said, taking his wrist. "I'll bandage it for you."

Tamaki whimpered, "But it hurts—"

"I know it hurts, Senpai, but its better if it's covered."

Nodding, Tamaki let her do what she wanted. He looked at her intent gaze as she ripped open the bandaid wrapper with her teeth, peeling back the two paper bits on the sticky side of it. "Almost finished…" she muttered as she carefully wrapped it around his finger.

He closed his eyes as her fingers touched his; but not from pain. "Haruhi," he said softly. His hand closed around hers. She looked up in surprise. "Senpai?"

It was his impulsivity. That's what she guessed it to be. He was a spontaneous person, after all; this much had been made evident to her throughout the year. Therefore, it was impulsivity that led him to surprising her immensely by closing his brilliant violet eyes, leaning his face towards her, and placing on her lips the gentlest kiss she could ever imagine to receive.

Haruhi gaped at him as he drew back. He seemed more surprised than her. "G-Gomen!" Tamaki stuttered when her expression became unreadable. "I didn't mean to, Haruhi, I…I was too quick, wasn't I? Haruhi, don't be angry! I'll do anything I can to—"

"Senpai," Haruhi cut in sternly.

Tamaki blinked behind his blonde fringe that had fallen over his eyes. "Wh-What?"

"You talk too much." With a hesitant smile—showing Tamaki that she was as just as shy and awkward as he—she leaned forward on her palms and returned his kiss. They sat there together as one for an impossibly long time.

The clock in the other room went off alarmingly loud, making them jump. Haruhi drew back, eyes wide. She wasn't sure of what to do next.

Tamaki did. With a soft grin, he ran his fingers through her hair, leaning in close. "Might I say, Haruhi, that your sweatpants are especially flattering on you today?"

Her cheeks flushing, Haruhi cried, "S-Senpai! I hardly…!"

He silenced her with another kiss, this time more urgent and filled with unharnessed desire. Haruhi gave way to him, and found that within moments she was pressed against the wall as Tamaki's lips sought hers. Their kiss became deeper, Haruhi's arms latching around his neck, Tamaki's arms enfolding her altogether. The white rose in Tamaki's hand dropped to the floor, forgotten.

Even as expressed their passion for one another by getting as close to one another as possible, the rose lay there significantly in the hall by their feet. It expressed its own intimate history as it there on the faded rug. The imprint of Tamaki's tear still lay on its small, white petals.

One thing Tamaki and Haruhi didn't notice, however, was a face peering through the kitchen window, his face in a smirk. "Kunio's gonna love this," he chuckled as Haruhi and Tamaki fell to her couch, lost in each other's arms.

_**x.x.x.x.x.l-Part l Concluded-l.x.x.x.x.x**_

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x**

**It was interesting, all the thoughts about what were going to happen in this chapter. And I'm just following my instincts here; although I REALLY wanted to keep the story of Haruhi, Tamaki and Kunio love triangle, I decided that its being dragged out too long. Now I shall go to the idea of Haruhi and Tamaki going out, and what the reactions are….like the Host Club's jealousy. –evil smile-**

**IT SHALL BE A HUGE MESS OF TANGLED CONFUSION! BWAHAH!**

**Oh, and by the way, before I run off to drink loads of pop on my success of FINALLY posting all of Part I, let me remind you that although its Part II, it's the same story; I'm not posting a whole other sequel.**

**(Sorry about the cliché line at the end of this chapter, the one that Takeshi says when he's peeking through the window. I just HAD to include it.)**

**Jaa Mata! –peace out-**

**-KuroHinote**


	8. Oh God: I'm Going Out With An Idiot

**Just when you think it's over…it's ALIVE AGAIN! **

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.**

_Chapter 8. _

_**x.x.x.x.x.l-Part lI-l.x.x.x.x.x**_

_**Every Rose Has Its Thorns**_

**Recap:**

_AUTHOR'S NOTE _(that is in caps because I want you to read it): This is the end of Part I, but by no means the end of the story. Lots of questions are unanswered; because we all know that Kunio's sob story is far from accurate.

What is the true cause for Tamaki's hatred towards him, and the reason why he's so jealous of Kunio whenever he even addresses Haruhi? And what of the unexplained love triangle that might possibly form between Haruhi, Tamaki, and some other jealous competitor for her heart?

Besides, if the story stopped here, we wouldn't be exposed to the larger scene of the story: how the Host Club will react to Tamaki's and Haruhi's sudden romance.

And how Tamaki and Haruhi suddenly have a stalker.

**Story:**

**Fujioka Residence; Haruhi's room**

Haruhi didn't sleep well that night.

Yes, she had kissed Tamaki like there was no tomorrow. Yes, she was in an unexplained state of bliss for at least two hours as she lay in his arms. Yes, it was some of the most significant moments of her life.

She couldn't hide it even from herself: love was bursting her heart into a thousand pieces, warming her chest, warming every cell in her body, making her realize the purpose of life, what she lived for.

Yet a nightmare raged inside her mind that night; the night after she kissed him. After he kissed her.

Although there was no thunderstorm, something else inspired her mind to have a dream cast with shadows and with lightning rippling the skies. When she woke, she couldn't remember all that happened, expect for a significant part that scared the life out of her:

She's on the couch, Tamaki on top of her. It's a déjà vu from a few hours before, what had already occurred. Only this time, something is wrong. His grip around her arms is harder than before, his tongue forcing entrance into her mouth. Fear grips her as he sharply unties the strings of her sweatpants; in one strong shove, she pushes him away and falls from the couch, staring up at him in horror. She says something, in a loud and demanding tone at him, but she can't hear her own voice. He leans over the couch and raises an eyebrow at her, his handsome face in a terrifying expression between a sneer and a scowl that she could never bear to imagine.

"Scared, Haru-chan?" he asks in a hiss, his lips curling into a sardonic smile. "Come back up here, be a good girl now. I'm not finished with you yet."

Haruhi scrambles to her feet and backs away against the wall, shaking her head. _What's wrong with him? _she thinks as her body quakes with fear.

He sighs in irritation, pushing his tall and thin frame in an upright position. He walks towards her with unhurried steps. "Come on now," he chuckles. "I thought you loved me, babe."

Now Haruhi is just disturbed.

But as he walks closer and closer to her, as he leans his face close to hers, she notices that it isn't Tamaki any longer. Lightning flashes outside of the living room window; as the light dies away, she finds that she's looking into Kunio's sheering blue eyes.

"What…?" she whispers.

"What's the matter?" he asks in a disappointed way, tilting his head to one side. "I'm not as good as that stupid Suoh?"

Haruhi cries out as he grabs her waist, pulling her close to him; again she can't hear her own voice. She is silent, helpless to the fact that his rough lips are touching hers again, that his far from gentle hands are grabbing her into a crude, arched position against him.

"YAMETE!" she finally hears herself scream.

Lightning flashes outside her window once again; the light dies away, and thank God, its Tamaki, frowning down worriedly at her, and his hands are gentle, he's not forcing himself on her, he's just staring down at her with a heart-wrenching gaze, one that she can't bear to look at.

"What did he do?" he asks, brushing the hair gently from her terrified face. The dream ended with her burying her face into his chest, against her character, sobbing uncontrollably.

Her eyes opened. She saw the dark ceiling above her. Her eyes grew slowly wider. "That…" she whispered, the frightening aspects of the dream hitting her at full force.

For once in a long time, she had the unquenchable urge to have someone sit close to her, comfort her, and reassure her that it was just a dream, that it could never be real. Like her mother used to do when she awoke shrieking because she dreamed of a clown, or a giant notebook coming after her stabbing at her with a flower that squirted water or an oversized pencil.

Knowing that the only source of comfort would come from an object she could cling to, she reached over her bed, until her wandering palm slapped against the bedside table. Her searching fingers grasped for the white rose that Tamaki had left her when he had unwillingly left her, five hours after he had came. She winced as one of the thorns punctured her finger; _again. _

"Every rose has its thorns," she grumbled wryly, but took the rose into her bed anyway, cradling it gently against her. Her smile lit up the darkness around her as she thought of Tamaki; even without half his clothes on, she thought with a deep blush.

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**Suoh Residence; Tamaki's room**

As the ringing tones reached his ear, and as he heard Kyoya picking up the phone, Tamaki shut the cell phone, hanging it up just as quickly as he had called. He didn't want to tell his friend just yet. He wanted it to be a surprise. A surprise to everyone in the Host Club when he and Haruhi walked hand in hand; as a couple.

Blushing at the mere thought, Tamaki hugged himself and sighed with complete ecstasy, sinking into his pillows. Him and Haruhi… He loved both of their names in the same sentence, the same breath. Tamaki and Haruhi. Haruhi and Tamaki. Tamaki and Haruhi making out on her couch and nearly getting caught by Ranka-san; oh, what shame.

Tamaki sat upright in his bed, eyes wide, face deep red. "What if…Ranka-san…had been SPYING?!" he cried in horror. He could just imagine what Haruhi's father would do to him if he were to find out. If he were to find out if Tamaki was going out with Haruhi AT ALL…!

Burying himself in a pitiful ball under the sheets, he soothed his fears. It would be fine; his Haruhi would protect him, no doubt. But he's the male! He should be protecting HER! Even so, if he could survive Ranka-san's reaction, he could survive the Host Club's…

Hah. The Host Club. As shallow as it was, he couldn't help but swell with pride as he thought of how he stole Haruhi's kiss before them, how she loved him romantically more than all the rest. He couldn't wait to see Hikaru's expression, he thought with an evil cackle.

_Even so…_ He stopped, frowning down at his hands as he crossed his legs, sitting on his soft bed. _What if…she loves them all romantically? Mori, Hikaru, Kaoru, Kyoya, even Kunio? And she would have taken any of them if they had just showed their feelings for her? _

His scowl deepened. _If that's the case…then she didn't specially pick me to be her boyfriend at all._

Immediately his channel of thought veered. "Haruhi's boyfriend…" he whispered to himself. His smile could have lit 20 light bulbs at once. With a blissful, happy sigh, he lay back on his bed, arms outstretched, reflecting back to all what happened just a few hours before.

A gentle smile touching his lips, he closed his eyes and imagined Haruhi, lying in his arms. He imagined her strong eyes making eye contact with his. Sometimes she amazed him beyond all limits. He could never explain why her eyes soaked him in warmth, made him feel like the luckiest person in the world when she looked at him. Just one of the countless things he loved about her, was his guess.

Sighing, he fell asleep by imagining her fingers playing with the petals of his white rose that he had given her, and imagining her smiling down into her reflection in the water as she floated them over the bridge and down into the river. Around her, a gentle breeze swayed, blowing Tamaki into a peaceful dream.

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**The Next Day, at Ouran High School.**

"Haruhi! Hey, Haruhi!"

Haruhi turned and saw Tamaki's face momentarily before he grabbed her into a tight and emotional hug. "Haruhiiii! Too long have I been without your presence!" he sobbed, rubbing his cheek against hers.

Haruhi let out a long sigh. Almost a sigh of relief. Her nightmare had been haunting her all day, the remembrance of Kunio's touch looming around her; it was a comfort to feel Tamaki's arms around her again.

Of course, she didn't show this.

"Senpai," she groaned, gently trying to push him away. "Not in public, please."

Something clicked in Tamaki's mind. _'Senpai'?! What a cold way to address one's other half! _Breaking away from Haruhi, he took her by the shoulders, looking into her eyes with a serious gaze. "Haruhi," he said sharply, "you must not call me such a formal name. Since we're on the highest levels of intimacy that we could ever be—"

"S-senpai!" she stammered, going an embarrassed shade of red as people around them leaned in to hear their animated conversation.

"—then you must call me by my _first name!_" he declared, slamming a fist against his heart, looking up at some unknown, inspiring light.

Sighing, Haruhi hunched her shoulders. She would have to get used to this new boyfriend of hers. "All right, then…Tamaki?"

Going absolutely giddy at hearing his name from her lips, he refrained [somehow from hugging her, since they were getting curious looks, and simply patted her head, smiling down at her in appreciation. "Good girl."

His exact words from her dream made a shiver ripple through her spine. "Should we…go to the Host Club? I don't want to be late again."

Tamaki tilted his head to one side, tapping his chin. "Well…I was thinking we could maybe skip the Host Club today…" he said slowly.

Haruhi stared up at him like he had grown a second head. "_What_?"

"Skip the Host Club," Tamaki repeated, his face breaking into a grin. "I'll explain to Kyoya later, I'm sure he won't mind. I just want to spend time with you!" he explained chirpily.

Haruhi couldn't help but smile. "Well…if you're sure."

"I am. Unless you wanted to go…?"

Haruhi frowned. "Well…not exactly…but if we go out into town now in our uniforms, we might get strange looks. By dating…as two guys."

"Oh. I didn't think of that," he admitted. He seemed a bit crestfallen, taking this as a rejection.

"But," she added quickly, "we could go to the Host Club for just a short time, to explain where we'll be, and then stop by my house so I can change."

"Yes, Haruhi! And get hair extensions from the drama costume room for you!"

"I wouldn't quite go that far…"

Tamaki chuckled, bending over and tapping her on the nose, grinning. "Don't worry. I was kidding; I like you better as yourself, anyway."

With a smile, Haruhi looked off to the side. "Good…"

Beaming, Tamaki announced, "Okay! So what do you want to do when we get into town?"

"Maybe we could get something to eat. And I have homework, so maybe while we're sitting down, I can get some work done so when I get home I can start on my chores straight…Why are you laughing?" she demanded.

Shaking his head, Tamaki just kept letting out his laughter, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and walking her down the hall, in direction of the music room. "I think you need to learn what a date is, dear Haruhi," he chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye.

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**In the Host Club; minutes before the guests had started to come.**

"They're late," Hikaru grumbled irritably, laying his head in his arms on the table. "Even m'lord hasn't showed."

Kaoru frowned down at his twin. "Is something bothering you, Hikaru?" he asked, leaning down to his eye level, resting his chin on the tabletop.

"Nothing at all, Kaoru."

What garbage. Kaoru raised an eyebrow at his twin, but said nothing. Knowing Hikaru, he would figure it out sooner than later.

With a sigh, Kyoya shut his laptop and stared absently out the window. "I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't show…" he muttered.

Mori, close enough to hear him, frowned at him from across the table. "Ah," he agreed.

Hunny, who sat in Mori's lap, played with his bunny's ears with slow movements. "I miss Tama-chan…" he sighed.

"He's only a few minutes late, Mitsukuni."

"What if he forgot about us?"

Kyoya chuckled at this. "Highly unlikely."

"What about Haruhi?" Hikaru grumbled from the opposite table. "Who cares about m'lord…" he added in a resenting tone, turning his head away from Kyoya, Mori and Hunny. Kaoru sighed in exasperation.

Hikaru's words lingered in the air for only a few moments before the door to the music room cracked open. As it slowly yawned open, laughter reached the Host Club's ears. They all stared in awe. Could that be…Haruhi laughing loudly outside in the hall?

As the doors yawned open, they got their answer. There Tamaki and Haruhi stood, side by side, arms brushing against one another as they walked. Tamaki was making animated gestures in the air with his hands, his face in a beaming smile as he looked down at Haruhi, Haruhi laughing freely at what he said.

"And then, after that…" Tamaki began, as in launching into a new chapter of his story. He seemed to be oblivious that 5 pairs of eyes were drilling into him, faces shocked.

Hikaru stood sharply; his chair scraped back against the floor, making a screech-like sound. Tamaki and Haruhi looked up from their conversation, suddenly aware of their surroundings.

Hunny broke the awkward silence that followed by crying out, "Tama-chaaan! You didn't forget about us!" He leapt off Mori's lap and sprinted to them, his arms outstretched, his eyes over-pouring with tears.

Blinking with surprise, Tamaki opened his arms for Hunny to jump into. He looked down at Hunny in bewilderment. "I'm not…THAT late, Hunny-senpai…"

"Hunny-senpai, is something wrong?" Haruhi asked in concern, touching the small boy's back.

"Haru-chan, I missed you too!" Immediately Hunny turned around in Tamaki's arms and grabbed onto Haruhi's neck, holding her close. By Hunny's embrace, the three stood close together, Tamaki and Haruhi looking at each other helplessly as they held a sobbing Hunny whose body was stretched between both of their arms.

"He didn't have enough cake today," Mori explained, coming up to them and holding out his arms for Hunny to enter. "Mitsukuni. Let's go get you and Bunny food."

Hunny looked up, blinking tears from his eyes. "Okay…Takashi," he said quietly. Smiling at Tamaki, then Haruhi, he bounced into Mori's arms. "Let Bun-Bun have extras!" he added.

"We'll see." Mori carried him back to the table, sitting at their original spot. This time Mori kept his head down. Avoided Tamaki and Haruhi's gaze.

"Why are you late this time, Tamaki?" Kyoya sighed, swivelling in his chair to look at the two of them. "I hope you won't make this a habit."

"I got a bit held up," Tamaki replied, smiling. "Haruhi here—"

Look alarmed, Haruhi stamped on her senpai's foot to keep him quiet. "Senpai!" she hissed.

"Ow-w," he whined, crumpling to the floor and holding his foot in pain. "Tamaki," he protested, scowling up at her.

"Not now," she replied, closing her eyes in irritation and walking away towards the table by the window. "Where are the guests?" she asked Kyoya as she passed.

"For some reason, late, like everyone else in this school," sighed a weary Mom of the Host Club.

Hikaru and Kaoru exchanged glances. "Haruhii," they whined, coming up behind her and leaning on her shoulders. "Will you play with us before the guests come?"

"Perverted twins!" Tamaki cried, smacking Hikaru over the head. "Don't harass my Haruhi!"

"Yours?" the twins smirked, turning to cackle at him. "Hardly."

Tamaki opened his mouth to protest, but hardly had time; Kyoya waved him over, telling him that he had three requests. Giving the twins one last glare, Tamaki regrettably left Haruhi, walking over to the three girls and smiling brightly in their direction. He led them to the couch, and immediately launched into enthusiastic conversation with them, commenting on their choice of hairstyle that day, and began admiring a gold chain on one of the girls' wrists, wondering with awe where she could have gotten such a beautiful piece of jewellery that matched her looks.

"He could easily be one of them, with the way he talks," Hikaru cackled, leaning against Haruhi's chair and raising an eyebrow down at her. "So, Haruhi. Where were you in Biology this morning?"

"Yes, we missed you," purred Kaoru, leaning in close to her face and miming his brother's grin.

"I wasn't in Biology?" asked Haruhi blankly.

"Haru-chan, Haru-chan!" Hunny cried, pulling a few girls towards her by the hands. "You're being requested!"

Haruhi smiled at the girls coming towards them, embarrassed smiles on their faces. "Hello," she greeted. "Welcome to the Host Club."

"See. Kumiko, what did I tell you? He's really nice!" one of them hissed to a shy, blushing girl next to her.

Kumiko nodded, her eyes never leaving Haruhi.

"Hmm, seems you have an admirer," grinned Hikaru, winking at Haruhi.

Haruhi shrugged. "I have a lot."

"I-If its all right, Haruhi-kun…I was wondering…if you'd like to sit in the Drama Club one day, as a guest. I'm sure everyone would be very grateful!" she added, bowing low, her two ponytails flipping over her shoulders.

Haruhi nodded. "All right. When I'm free, okay?"

Kumiko straightened, blushing furiously. "Arigatou, Haruhi-kun!" she cried, smiling.

She gave an absent nod. But her eyes were not looking at Kumiko's happy face. Her eyes had travelled to Tamaki, who sat across the room, still talking with those girls. He was even 'declaring his undying love' for one of them as the rest swooned in their seats.

A frown passed over Haruhi's face.

"Haruhi?" Kaoru poked her, jolting her out of her trance. "What's the matter?"

"N-Nothing," she said, ripping her eyes from Tamaki and smiling at Kumiko. "What days is the Drama Club on? If it takes place during lunchtime, I'm positive I can come."

Kumiko beamed, "Yes, they're then, they're then! Can you come tomorrow?"

"Of course."

The girls around Haruhi swooned at her smile. "Th-Thank you, Haruhi-kun…" they sighed, hands to their foreheads.

Haruhi let out a small sigh. Now she was strung to go to some Drama Club meeting for who-knows-what. Tamaki definitely wouldn't like that.

Although she got two more requests, she found herself sitting alone in the corner of the room towards the end of the Host Club, looking down at the floor in a depressed way. She felt alone, but at the same time stupid beyond all reason.

_Sen…I mean Tamaki's been getting requests right and left since we came in here…there goes the 'date plan'. _

She closed her eyes in irritation, gripping her knees, jaw twitching. _Why _should _you care, though? You didn't want to go on a date with him in the first place. You have homework._

Opening her eyes, they travelled (against her will) to Tamaki on the couch, talking happily the same girls from before; except now their friends of friends had joined. He seemed perfectly happy. As if he could love each and every one of them without blinking an eyelid.

_Show some integrity, will you? _she fumed, gritting her teeth. That was one thing Tamaki lacked.

Leaning back in the couch, she sighed, closing her eyes. _I'll just sleep and forget about everything…_

She wasn't sure how much time passed before she heard his irritating (wonderful) voice calling her name.

"Haruhiii!"

She opened her eyes. Smiled. Tamaki stood in front of her, looking down at her with a happy expression. "Don't sleep, Haruhi! We still have to go on…" He stopped, looking around to see if anyone was hearing. "Our date," he ended in a small whisper.

"Why did you whisper it?" Haruhi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Aren't you embarrassed?"

Haruhi blinked. She was? "Well…"

"Oh, look! Look what Kumiko from the Drama Club gave me!" To her horror, he held up a pair of wavy and brown hair extensions that bounced when he moved them in front of her vision. "Seee, Haruhi?"

"Senpai!" Haruhi protested. "I said none of those! Does it matter what my hair looks like?"

"Tamaki."

"What?"

"You must call me Tamaki."

"Fine, fine."

"Should we go now?"

"Huh?"

"Out to town!" Tamaki cried, throwing his hands in the air. "Come on, Haruhi, let's go!" He grabbed her hands and yanked her to her feet, spinning her out the door.

"Hang on," Kyoya growled as they passed. Snatching Tamaki's collar in his fist, he pulled the both of them back. "Where did you think you're going?"

"To town!" Tamaki beamed.

"Nowhere," said Haruhi, looking away blandly.

Kyoya raised an eyebrow at each of them. "Which is it?"

"Why are you going to town?" Hunny asked, coming up to them, a fork hanging from his mouth.

"To eat."

"To have a romantic time under the sakura trees!"

Tamaki and Haruhi looked at each other, frowning at their different answers.

Kyoya closed his eyes in irritation. "When will it get through to you…?"

"Why are you going to town, Haruhi?" Mori asked from the table, raising his intense eyes to hers.

Finding she couldn't find her tongue, Haruhi shrunk uncomfortably under his gaze.

Tamaki noticed. Scowling, and drawing up to his full height, he announced in a great, powerful voice, "Me and Haruhi are, as of now, dating! And that's why we're going to town. To spend time with each other. That's the end of the discussion," he added with an embarrassed cough as everyone turned their heads to look at them.

Haruhi blinked up at Tamaki in shock. "S-Senpai…"

"Just walk," Tamaki instructed her in a low voice, turning her around and leading her out the door. He could already feel the deadly scowl of Hikaru burning his back.

As they walked towards the door together, their footsteps echoing across the silence, the room came alive; and exploded behind them. Literally.

"TAMAKI AND HARUHI ARE GOING OUT?!?" shrieked the girls, leaping to their feet, too surprised to bother with formal tags at the end of the names.

Kyoya stared.

The fork dropped from Hunny's mouth.

Mori looked back to his book.

Kaoru gaped.

Hikaru stood, ready to burst out in anger.

Haruhi cringed at all these reactions as she turned her head to look as she and Tamaki went through the doorway.

"Wait, Haruhi. There's someone in front of us."

For some reason, she could hear Tamaki's voice above all the screaming in the background. She looked ahead, and blinked at Kunio, who was inches away from them.

"Oh." Kunio's face relaxed into a smile. "Excuse me, Haruhi. I didn't mean to walk into you."

Haruhi inclined her head. "It's all right…" She felt Tamaki's grip around her wrist tighten.

"What happened back there?" Kunio wondered, looking over Haruhi's shoulder. "Looks like a bomb went off."

"Why did you come here again?" demanded Tamaki, voice hard. Haruhi winced. His grip was iron, and crunching her skin and bone.

"I was instructed by one of the teachers to find a specific student; Midori Yakada," replied Kunio smoothly. "Yet I don't expect to get her out of here anytime soon, what with the chaos in there…" He flashed a grin in Haruhi's direction. "This wouldn't be your doing, would it?"

"Why would it be?" asked Haruhi blandly. She wished Tamaki would let go of her; his hand was actually starting to hurt.

"It was like you were telling me yesterday, on the park bench," shrugged Kunio. He snuck a devious glance in Tamaki's direction.

Tamaki prickled with anger. "What?" He frowned down at Haruhi, who was staring ahead at Kunio with a hardened gaze.

"I don't recall telling you anything."

"Oh, c'mon Haruhi, you remember…we almost had a 'moment', you could say," chuckled Kunio, leaning against the doorframe, hands deep in his pockets.

"'Moment'? I wasn't aware one was occurring," said Haruhi icily, turning her head away from him.

With an innocent look, Kunio walked over to her, trying to meet her eyes. "What, Haruhi, did I upset you?"

"No, it's just—"

"Or do you not want to admit it?" Kunio asked, his grin returning.

"Leave her alone."

Kunio blinked as Tamaki shoved in between Haruhi and his cousin, arms outstretched protectively in front of Haruhi. He gave Kunio an intimidating glare. "Well?"

Scoffing, Kunio waved his hand in front of Tamaki's face absently. "Grow up, cuz. This isn't the first time I've stolen a girl under your nose; you should be used to it by now."

"Didn't you hear me? I said to leave her alone," Tamaki growled. In one swift motion, he snatched Kunio's collar and threw him against the wall. Kunio hit it and crumpled; but before his knees could touch the floor, Tamaki grasped his shoulder and pinned his arm across his chest.

The buzz around them quieted down as all stared in shock at Tamaki and Kunio. Kyoya stood, as if to intercept, stop his friend from doing anything more. Haruhi beat him to it.

Overcoming her shock, she grabbed Tamaki's tense arm. "Senpai, stop!" she commanded. "You don't want to hurt him."

Tamaki glared down at her. "Even taking his side?"

"No. Stopping you from doing something stupid."

Softening at her determined scowl, Tamaki backed away, letting his fists fall to his sides. "As you wish," he muttered, his blonde hair draping across his eyes.

Kunio relaxed and rubbed his shoulder, giving out a sigh of relief. "Well, it isn't as if you could do anything Tamaki, but—GAH!"

With an effortless shove, Tamaki sent Kunio flying across to the other side of the room with terrifying speed. As Kunio crashed into the plaster, a sweatdrop appeared on Haruhi's head. Tamaki looked over at her with a hurt gaze. "Haruhi…"

She frowned at him. "What is it, senpai?"

"You should have told me. That you were with him. Didn't I tell you not to go near him?"

Haruhi went rigid. "Senpai, nothing—"

"Didn't I?" Tamaki asked in a louder voice, advancing towards her with clenched fists. "Why did you deliberately talk to him, and why is he suggesting that—" He stopped, realizing all the eyes on them. He stopped. Straightened. Turning away from Haruhi, he mumbled, "Forget it."

Walking towards the door, his hand flew out, and he grasped the handle of the door, yanking it open. With a calm, collected manner, he shoved his hands deep into his pants' pockets, and walked out.

Haruhi stared after him, her look exasperated and confused. "Senpai!" she called after him. He didn't look back.

"What an over-dramatic," sighed Kunio, wincing as he straightened. "Why do you bother, Haruhi?"

Aiming a glare in his direction, Haruhi didn't reply. Instead, she ran out after Tamaki, who was now a tiny figure down the hall from where she stood.

Kyoya's chair scraped as the Mom of the Host Club pushed it behind him; with long strides he went out after the both of them. Mori scooped Hunny into his arms; Hunny dropped the fork of cake in mid-bite. Giving each other a look and a shrug, Hikaru and Kaoru followed their fellow members. As the two passed Kunio, they dropped a napkin by his feet. "Entertain our guests, will you?" they drawled, eyes closed in a casual manner.

Raising an eyebrow, Kunio scanned his eyes over the many girls that were gathered around him. "Uh…" he said as their faces slowly brightened into evil smirks.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.**

**HAH! Kunio is trapped with FANGIRLS! Never to come out again! Well…I wish…**

**Sorry, that's a very dead way to end the chapter, isn't it? It was just getting a bit long…and I wanted it to stop…so…I trapped Kunio. To make him sad.**

**Now, you have read…so…REVIEW!**

**-KuroHinote**


	9. The Dark Side of Me

**Thank you for being patient with me! I've been up to my eyes in studying…Exams are all of next week (its very frightening). But I decided to not care, and write this chapter, all for you loverly people!**

**Should I really state the disclaimer? Nawww. ON WITH THE STORY!**

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x………………………….**

_Chapter 9: The Dark Side of Me._

**Recap:**

With an effortless shove, Tamaki sent Kunio flying across to the other side of the room with terrifying speed. As Kunio crashed into the plaster, Tamaki looked towards Haruhi with a hurt gaze. "Haruhi…"

She frowned at him. "What is it, senpai?"

"You should have told me. That you were with him. Didn't I tell you not to go near him?"

Haruhi went rigid. "Senpai, nothing—"

"Didn't I?" Tamaki asked in a louder voice, advancing towards her with clenched fists. "Why did you deliberately talk to him, and why is he suggesting that—" He stopped, realizing all the eyes on them. He stopped. Straightened. Turning away from Haruhi, he mumbled, "Forget it."

Walking towards the door, his hand flew out, and he grasped the handle of the door, yanking it open. With a calm, collected manner, he shoved his hands deep into his pants' pockets, and walked out.

Haruhi stared after him, her look exasperated and confused. "Senpai!" she called after him. He didn't look back.

**Story: **

"Quick, behind this corner!"

Five of the seven Host Club members shuffled around the corner and pressed against the wall on Kaoru's demand. As soon as Mori placed Hunny on the ground, the small blonde began walking out of the shadow of the corner. "I want to see Haru-chan…" he began.

"No, Hunny-senpai!" Kaoru and Hikaru tackled him at once, yanking him back from the open. "You have to resist!"

"This way we can see what happens," Mori explained to Hunny as he opened his mouth to protest.

"You _all_ have to be quiet, so we see what happens," Kyoya told them with a frown. Peering over the corner, looking towards Haruhi and Tamaki, not even he, amidst his jealousy, could withstand from knowing the end results of Haruhi's argument with the Host Club King.

Up ahead, Haruhi snatched Tamaki's shoulder and wheeled him around to face her. "Senpai," she said sternly.

He blinked, surprised. "H-Haruhi, what—"

"Why did you run off?!" she demanded, throwing up her hands in exasperation.

"I-I didn't know you'd come after me…"

"What? That's…Senpai! What made you upset in there? What did Kunio say?"

"I ran…because of you and Kunio…"

"Nani?"

Tamaki slowly fed into the argumentative mood Haruhi was in. "Listen, Haruhi, if you love Kunio, you should tell me—and him—that you do, straight out."

Haruhi's eyes widened. "Senpai, that is ridi—"

"And why didn't you tell me that you talked to him yesterday?"

"I had to lead the conversation, senpai, it was only polite. Nothing happened. Why don't you trust me?"

"Because it's KUNIO, Haruhi, he's dangerous." Forking his hair back, he let out an explosive sigh. "It's not a matter of trusting you, it's just a matter of…of trusting what he might do!"

"Well he hasn't done a thing to me yet. I think there's a deeper issue, senpai. What do you have against him?"

"Th-There is no deeper issue!" Tamaki protested, putting up his wall of hardest defences. "I just don't want to see you getting hurt."

Haruhi opened her mouth to retort; then stopped. Her anger smouldered as she realized that he was just looking out for her; to make sure that she didn't get hurt by Kunio, or anyone else for that matter. It was just Tamaki's way. Sighing, she softened.

Taking a step closer to him, she clasped her hands together in front of her, eyes downcast. She could sense that he was still tense from yelling. "If we're going to be together…we have to trust each other, right?"

Tamaki nodded, also looking downwards. "You're right…"

She gazed up at him with a small smile. "So do you still want to go on that date?"

"Hmm." Tamaki thought for a moment, then brightened. "Haruhi, I will forgive you and at the same time apologize and we will walk away happy IF—" he paused for effect, "—you call me by my first name."

Haruhi raised an eyebrow, a look of disbelief passing over her face. "You're serious, aren't you?"

Beaming, Tamaki bent over to tap her softly on the nose. "Just one word. Three syllables. Taa maaa kiiiiii."

Closing her eyes in frustration, Haruhi said, "Fine, fine! Tamaki. Tamaki. Tamaki! Happy, Tamaki? Should I say your name a few more times, Tamaki?"

Tamaki let out a long sigh. "As many times as you want, Haruhi…" he said in a dreamy voice, love hearts popping around his head.

"Oh, let's just go," Haruhi grumbled, grabbing his sleeve and yanking him in the direction of the staircase. "Wait…" She stopped, and turned, frowning towards the Host Club door.

"What is it, Haruhi?" Tamaki asked, leaning down to her eye level, his eyes on the same object she was staring at. "Do you see something?"

"No…I just thought…" She gave him a hesitant grin. "It's just that I have the oddest feeling someone's watching us."

"Kunio?" Tamaki snapped his head in every direction, suddenly alert.

"No, not him. I thought I heard Hunny's voice, that's all."

A few metres away, five Host Club members stiffened, sweatdrops appearing on each other their heads. "She's better than we gave her credit for," whispered Kaoru to Hikaru.

With a smile, Tamaki slipped his hand into hers, their fingers entwining. "Well, we are near to the music room."

Haruhi nodded. "You're right…I was just jumping to conclusions." She glanced up at Tamaki. "Should we…maybe go?"

"Yes!" Tamaki cried, launching into a skip. "I've been waiting for this all day!" he whooped, dragging poor Haruhi after him as he made great strides down the empty hall.

A silence hung over Kyoya, the twins, Mori, and Hunny. After a few moments, Hunny found it safe to breathe, "Haru-chan and Tama-chan? _Kawaii_!"

"If they fight on the first day of being a couple, their fights will never end…" said Mori in a low voice, mostly to himself. Closing his eyes, he leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and nursed his wounded heart [better word??. Although his love for his cousin had been inhibiting his heart for a long time, Haruhi also took up half the space. [cause its too repetitive

With a chuckle, Kyoya ran his fingers through his dark hair. "Baka. Just like him, beating us all to it."

"I'd like to call him something stronger," Hikaru muttered, looking off to the side, face clenched in a scowl. "Why should he get Haruhi? How was he any quicker? How could she even _choose _him?"

"She'll still be your 'playmate'," Kyoya told him with a raised eyebrow. "I wouldn't be worried."

Kaoru gave his brother a worried frown; placing a hand on his rigid shoulder, he whispered, "Hikaru? Are you all right?"

Through taint lips, Hikaru replied, "I'm fine."

"Takashi, Takashi! Let's get cake now!" Hunny cried, taking off in the direction of the music room. Sighing, Mori followed reluctantly, his figure hunched as he travelled after his happy cousin.

Kyoya blinked, as if waken from a daze. "Oh…it's only 4:30. We still have guests." He gave the twins a look. "I expect you to come, too. We're on full duty, with Haruhi and Tamaki gone." This being said, he casually stuck his hands back into his pockets, striding back to the music room. Although he had taken an interest in Haruhi temporarily, Haruhi and Tamaki's newfound romance didn't strike him down.

Kaoru bit his lip, tapping his knuckles against the wall. "We should follow," he stated to his brother.

Hikaru nodded absently, his jaw clenched. "Soon," he said in a distant voice.

"Is it that much of a shock?"

Hikaru turned his head to frown at Kaoru. "What?"

"Is it that much of a shock," Kaoru repeated. "That Tamaki got Haruhi in the end. Weren't we expecting it? Last week?" When Hikaru still looked blank, he continued, "Remember how we were betting who was going to get Haruhi first? Kyoya, Mori, you, or m'lord?"

Hikaru snapped his fingers. "Ah." With a small shrug, he turned, digging his toe into the wall, his shoulders hunched. "Yeah…but…I didn't want to believe it. I thought there was some hope that maybe she'd choose me."

Sighing, Kaoru said with a wave of his hand, "Don't dwell too long on it. You'll lose any grip on reality." Pointing to the music room, he said, "I'm going to go back. Do you…?"

"Soon," Hikaru told him, a wry smile twisting his lips as he turned towards his twin. "I think...I'm going to think for a few more minutes."

"Think?" Kaoru repeated. "Well…okay." Frowning at Hikaru one last time, he pivoted on his heel. "Oh…wait." He turned back to his brother, frowning. "I think I forgot my pencil case back in the Science Lab."

Hikaru stared at him blankly. "Is it that important?"

"Yes. It has my calculator in it. And I need it…"

"For math homework," Hikaru finished for him with a sigh. "All right, let's go get it." Pressing his palms against the wall, he pushed himself away from the plaster, getting a head start down the hall. Meekly, Kaoru followed, his hands in his pockets.

Ahead, Hikaru kept his vision hung towards the ground, his scowl burning a hole in the tiles. _Tamaki? With Haruhi? But she should choose me, shouldn't she? We had the date. We had the connection. It was awkward; but I was starting to have fun towards the end. So me fantasizing that we could have a relationship was another one of my lame attempts at happiness?_

"Hikaru…" said Kaoru softly behind him.

Hikaru lifted his head, turning to look at his younger twin. "Yeah?"

Shaking his head, Kaoru pulled his eyes away from his brother. "Never mind."

With a casual shrug, Hikaru swivelled his gaze back in front of him; as he did, a shadowed figure caught his eye. The shadow stood against a doorway of a classroom, solid and unmoving. It was a male, no taller than himself; and by his thin frame no younger, either. Frowning, he walked faster, to see who it was.

"Hikaru? Hikaru," Kaoru groaned as his brother broke into a run. "What is it?" He jogged a few steps, then stopped, not willing to start a chase.

Hikaru slowed to a stop when he was right in front of the figure. He opened his mouth to call out, ask who it was, when he saw the figure lift a finger to his lips, signalling silence. Hikaru scratched the itch in the back of his head, frowning.

Slowly, the figure stepped further into the light; Hikaru's eyes widened and his fingers stopped in mid-movement as he saw the face of Kunio. _I thought he was trapped in the music room? He must have escaped. _"What…" he murmured.

Kaoru, who was well ahead of him by then, let out an explosive sigh and stopped. "Hikaru!" he said in an irritated tone. "What is wrong with you?"

Hikaru waved his brother away dismissively. "You go on ahead, I'll catch up," he told him.

Sighing, and shrugging one shoulder casually, Kaoru continued down the hall, frowning at the curious behaviour of his brother.

Hikaru stared down at Kunio's grinning face for a few more moments. He looked rather ghostly, tucked deep into the shadows, his face candled with an eerie glow from the fluorescent lights of the hall. "What are you doing back there?" he finally demanded. "Hiding from your girl fans?"

"Actually, no; they gave up the chase as soon as I left the room." He stepped forward, his hands deep in his pockets. "Tough situation, eh?"

Hikaru stiffened. "What are you talking about?"

"The love triangle between you, Haruhi, and my cousin. Hurts, doesn't it?"

With a scoff, Hikaru turned on his heel, his back to Kunio. "No; I don't even mind. M'lord can have Haruhi 100 percent to himself; he's more than welcome."

"Hmm. Well, my cousin is one to break hearts; whether it be girls' or boys'. In elementary school, you should have seen him; a girl fell in love with him twice every day. Rejected them all, of course. And him staying open just made everyone even more distressed."

Hikaru gave him a side-look, over his shoulder. "I don't see how this has to do with me."

"Let me continue then. One day, I broke his chain of hear-breaks; or, rather, he did, I just took advantage of the situation. He fell in love with a girl in our class; a dark-eyed foreign girl who couldn't speak much French. He followed her everywhere, like a puppy; took care of her whenever she needed it. Then, one day, I stole her."

Hikaru turned, giving Kunio a strange look. "What? Stole her?"

"I stole her heart, that is," explained Kunio with a foolish grin. "Snatched her right from Tamaki's grasp. He was depressed for days on end, and wouldn't talk to anyone."

"I still don't—"

"Oh, for the love of God," said Kunio with a roll of his eyes. Advancing on Hikaru, he clasped a hand on his shoulder, leaning in towards his face. "Don't you see? He didn't fight back. He didn't even _try _to get the girl back for himself; he just let it be. He's not aggressive when it comes to his own heart breaking."

Hikaru nodded slowly, frowning at Tamaki's strange cousin. He still didn't completely grasp the point.

"So, if you try to steal Haruhi, my friend…" Kunio laughed and shook his head. "Tamaki won't do a damn thing to stop it. He'll be too swamped in his own misery."

Hikaru raised his eyebrows; he had never considered that aspect of the situation. "Oh," he said in a small voice.

"Think about it a bit," said Kunio. He stepped back, his grin staying pasted on his face. "And come to me if you need any of Tamaki's weak points; God knows I know 'em all." With a wink, he pivoted on his heel and strode down the hall.

Hikaru turned his head to watch Kunio's retreating form, even as Kaoru stepped out of a nearby room. He walked up to his brother, smiling, holding his pencil case like a trophy. "Got it!" he announced.

Nodding distantly, Hikaru didn't move otherwise.

"Hikaru?" Kaoru leaned forward, waving his hand in his brother's face. "Something the matter?"

A slow grin appeared on Hikaru's face. "Nothing," he said. He turned to Kaoru, his smile growing wider. "I've just come to a realization, that's all."

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x………………………………………………………..**

Tamaki flopped onto his back, hitting the bed with full force. He sighed, sinking into the sheets, his eyes closed as memories ran through his mind.

His cell phone rang an irritating tone, shattering the silence. Reaching into his pocket, he flicked out his phone, holding it to his ear. "Moshi moshi?" he sighed.

"So, how was the first date?"

Tamaki gasped, sitting upright. "Kyoya!" he cried, nuzzling the phone to his cheek, as if it were his friend sitting next to him. "Yay, you called!"

"Yes, because you left 20 voice messages on my phone…" Kyoya grumbled on the other line. "You didn't answer my question."

"Oh." Tamaki's shoulders fell. "How did the date go? Well…I'm not…sure," he shrugged.

Kyoya was quiet for a moment. "What happened?"

"Nothing! Well, something. We went to a coffee shop, got some food, talked…"

"That's hardly worth missing the Host Club for."

"Gomen, Kyoya, gomen! It's just that after school is the only time we can see each other—"

"Well see each other in the Host Club from now on."

"No, I can't hug her and…you know! It'd give away her sex!"

"Not like you don't glomp her anyway…"

"But," said Tamaki, pausing thoughtfully. "There was something wrong, when she talked to me. She acted like she almost didn't want to be on the date."

"You don't say," Kyoya said in a flat tone.

"And…"

"And?"

Tamaki let out a quiet sigh, crossing his arms, his phone balancing in between his shoulder and his ear. "And we kept seeing Kunio."

Silence on Kyoya's line.

"He was everywhere! I tried to hide her in a dress shop, and made her try on some dresses, but then he passed there too, and grinned at us! Then he had the nerve to come up to us in the coffee shop and TALK to her! You don't TALK to people when they're on dates!"

"Oh, really."

"I was ready to result to violence, Kyoya," Tamaki told him in a grave tone. And he was. The whole time Kunio talked to Haruhi, Tamaki had his hand dangerously put on a saltshaker.

"I hardly think you're capable of violence."

"How did he find us so many times? It's impossible for him to be that lucky!"

"You haven't considered that it might be a case of stalking?"

"Well…Well, I suppose it could be…" Tamaki froze, his eyes widening. "Is he trying to steal someone else?" he asked quietly.

"I wouldn't put it past him."

Tamaki bolted to his feet, fists clenched. "No!" he cried, pointing high to the sky. "I won't allow it to happen! Haruhi is mine, and she will stay that way! If Kunio even dares to lay a finger on her, I'll bombard him with DRESSES!" Tamaki threw back his head, laughing manically.

Kyoya let out a long, exasperated sigh on the other line. "You do that."

"And then, I will steal his toy monkey, and all will be well!"

"Yes, Tamaki. Goodbye."

"What?!" Tamaki summoned a tear at the corner of his eye, clutching the phone to his ear. "You're not leaving, are you?"

"You seem perfectly capable of keeping up the conversation without me. And I have homework."

"Oh…" whimpered Tamaki in a pathetic voice.

"Just one thing."

"Yes?" he asked hopefully.

"Next time you go on a date with Haruhi, consider what the rest of the Host Club might be thinking."

"Huh?"

"Hikaru, Kaoru, Mori-senpai, Hunny-senpai. Next time you take Haruhi on a date, and detach her from the Host Club just for yourself, consider what they might think; after all, from what I've heard, they love her too."

Tamaki nodded. "O…kay…"

"Talk to you later, Tamaki," said Kyoya in a more cheery voice. The line went dead.

"Bye," said Tamaki softly, although he knew he was talking to air. He sat back down on the edge of his bed, his hands resting on his legs. He stared blankly out into the distance, a flashback stirring in his mind.

"_You're so selfish, Tamaki."_

"_What?" Tamaki turned to Kunio, a confused expression on his young, eight-year-old face. "What do you mean? I share my teddy with my friends all the time!"_

_Kunio shook his head, snorting rudely. "I don't mean __**that**__ kind of selfishness, stupid. All the girls like you; so why don't you accept them, instead of turning them away?"_

"_Oh, easy! Because I'm waiting for the perfect one," said Tamaki with a large smile._

"_At the same time breaking everyone's heart?"_

_Either he didn't understand; or he didn't mind. Either way, Tamaki nodded, his smile growing. "Yeah!"_

_Kunio stared blankly at him. "Wow," he said softly._

_Tamaki blinked. "What? What's wrong?"_

"_You're meaner…than me."_

_Perplexed, Tamaki stood there rigidly, not comprehending. "Meaner than…you?"_

"_At least I don't reject every girl that I see. I at least have the courtesy to be nice to them afterwards. You; you totally forget about them, there's so many." Kunio gave him a dark look, rubbing his sleeve across his runny nose. "I don't like you anymore, Tamaki." With that, he turned on his heel, marching away from the wounded Tamaki._

Tamaki sighed, bowing his head. He had kept true to his word. He never spoke a kind word again; his playmate was lost. Thus, they evolved into enemies. Hated their very faces. Tamaki hated Kunio, because of his violent personality and ability to snatch everything he loved from under his nose; Kunio hated Tamaki because of his good looks and ability to get any girl he wanted, but not take advantage of it.

"Kunio was right," Tamaki whispered. "I…_am _selfish. I'm not aware of anyone but myself."

Arrows of shame piercing him at every direction, he lay slowly back down onto his bed, a sigh heaving his chest, the memories once again swarming his mind.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x………………………**

**Hehe, I should have been studying for exams, but wrote this instead. A much better use of my time, since I haven't updated in a while. This chapter was kind of scattered…I was running low on ideas. I promise the next one will have more structure; this is a mad time for me, so I'm trying to wrap my ahead around this plot.**

**Wellp, that's all folks! Now, do your duty…P**

**-KuroHinote**


	10. Aftershock: Part I

**Anonymous review reply(s):**

**LonexWolf: **Would you please sign up for fanfiction? Replying to you at the beginning of each of my chapters makes me feel unworthy of reply. –hangs head in shame- NO, I will not stop My Silent Feelings! That was just my thought at the time! Then I had this miraculous breakthrough and…WHOOSH. More chapters. Tis magical! Ooh, chocolate cake…then I MUST update MSF! Hehehe. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on my upcoming chapters! –dorky smile-

**To all my reviewers: **I officially love you guys. I got so many long reviews here and on my other story, it made my day times a hundred haha. So thanks, really, a lot—the constructive criticism you give me really is worth it, cause I put it into my writing and then you're all happy (hopefully) and then I'm happy and then all of a sudden the world is…Okay I'm rambling.

**Enough sap. ON WITH IT! **

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x……………………...**

**Translation: **_**Yokata**_Great

_Chapter 10: Aftershock _

**Recap:**

"Kunio was right," Tamaki whispered. "I…_am _selfish. I'm not aware of anyone but myself."

Arrows of shame piercing him at every direction, he lay slowly back down onto his bed, a sigh heaving his chest, the memories once again swarming his mind.

**Story:**

"Oh, Haruhiii!" Ryoji Fujioka called, waving her bag of lunch after her in the air. "You forgot something!"

Haruhi blinked, turning on her heel. "But…I already got my lunch, Oto-san," she said, slowly holding up another bag nearly identical.

"Yes, but this is the one _I _made!" he said cheerfully. Standing, he walked towards his daughter who stood at the door, and flung the lunch away. Haruhi watched her hard work of a lunch hit the wall and crumple to the floor.

"Yokata," she muttered under her breath in an ironic tone. "Arigatou, Oto-san," she sighed, taking the bag from her smiling father. "I'll eat it…gratefully."

"Bye bye, Haruhi!" her father waved as she stepped out the door. "Oh, and, Haruhi…" he said in a slower tone.

She turned. "What?"

Very gravely, he held up a delicate white handkerchief that lay limp in his palm. "Care to explain what THIS is?"

Frowning, Haruhi took the object from her father; squinting at the small golden initials stitched carefully into the fabric. "T…S." It hit her; she stood there like a fool, staring at the handkerchief with sweat-drops appearing at all sides of her head. "Oh," she said quietly.

"HARUHI, HOW COULD YOU?!" Ryoji cried in anguish, falling to his knees, his fists striking against the wooden floor as he bowed his head. "How could you possibly have an affair with that…with that TAMAKI SUOH!?"

"A-Affair?" Haruhi stuttered. "No, no, that's not the situation, not at all…"

"What situation IS it, then?!" Her father looked up at his daughter with tear-stricken eyes. "Haruhi, you're supposed to tell your father EVERYTHING! You didn't even tell me when your first kiss was stolen! Am I to be cast away in the shadows of your past? Am I?" he demanded, grabbing her blazer, hauling himself up close to her face in a pleading position.

Holding up her hands in defence, Haruhi stuttered, "N-No I'm n-not having any sort of affair w-with Tamaki, I—"

"Ah!" Ryoji sprang to his feet, pointing dead into her face. "YOU CALLED HIM TAMAKI! Without a polite clause at the end! There IS some sort of tenderness between you two, I KNEW it!" he wailed, falling to the floor once again, holding his head in pain.

"O-Oto-san…" said Haruhi helplessly, staring down at her tragic father at her feet. "It's not…that bad…"

A cheerful knock came from behind her. She blinked in surprise, and turned around. "Who is that?" she asked to herself.

Ryoji shrieked and sprang to his feet, covering his face with his hands. "No! Don't open the door! I don't have my makeup on yet! Noo, Haruhi, don't!" He sprinted the other way, retreating under their small table.

Carefully, Haruhi unlatched the door and peeked outside. "Oh no," she whispered.

Tamaki smiled widely before her, his briefcase in hand, his eyes bright. "Haruhi!" he cried, yanking her out the door and glomping her. "I've missed you so much!"

Haruhi let out a breath, going limp in his arms. "Senpaiii…" she simmered.

"Tamaki," she heard him say back to her.

"Oh good grief." She pushed herself away from him, putting her finger over her lips. "Shh! Don't let Oto-san hear you!"

Tamaki blinked. "Oh. He's here in the morning? He doesn't leave for work?"

"Not until 11:00, no. So be quiet!"

"Haruhi?" called Ryoji from the back of her. "Haruhi, whose at the door?"

"Uh, no one!" Haruhi yelled back. Tamaki opened his mouth to say something; she gave him a warning scowl and shut the door in his face. "I'll be going now, Oto-san," she told her father, who was just climbing out from under the table. Grabbing her bag from the ground, she slipped out the door. "Bye!" she managed before Tamaki grabbed her arm and pulled her the rest of the way out.

Ryoji clenched his fists, looking at where she left with a glare. "Tamaki Suoooh…" he growled under his breath, vowing vengeance in his mind on the young man that dared to steal his daughter.

Haruhi groaned as Tamaki pulled her further down the concrete pathway towards the stairs. "Oh, why are you here, Se—Tamaki?"

"I wanted to walk you to school, of course!"

"But your house is miles and miles…"

"I drove," Tamaki snorted. "I wouldn't walk _that _far."

Haruhi sighed, pushing a strand of hair from her face. "I bet you wouldn't…"

"Wait." Tamaki halted, turning on her with a worried gaze. "This is…what boyfriends are meant to do, right? Or is this too much attention? Am I smothering you with too much attention, Haruhi?" he gasped.

Haruhi raised an eyebrow. "No…no, this is fine…"

"Oh, good," Tamaki grinned. "Come on, it's a long way to go!" Grabbing her hand, he ran down the stairs, dragging him with her.

As the steps flashed by her clumsy feet, Haruhi looked up towards her apartment with a frown. _I won't tell Oto-san. About me and Tamaki. Not now._

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x……………………………..**

"Kumiko-chan!" Renge pulled her friend against the wall, leaning in close to her ear. "Act subtle. But look. Look who's coming!"

Kumiko turned her head, confused. She gasped. "Oh my gosh!" she squealed. "It's Haruhi and Tamaki! Walking into the school…together!"

"Yes!" Renge chuckled maniacally, rubbing her hands together, a dark expression appearing on her face. "This will make the perfect yaori chapter in the Host Club's history…Something besides incest!"

Kumiko giggled, and swooned with romantic notions. "Oh, I can just imagine it! Tamaki and Haruhi…the two of the hottest members in the Host Club…together!"

Renge snorted. "Tamaki? Good-looking? Oh, please!"

"We have to spread the word!" Kumiko gasped, clutching Renge's arm. "We need to inform absolutely everyone!"

"Yes! We'll make signs!"

Chuckling evilly, the girls set off to the art room, their flyer designs in mind. Despite what Tamaki thought, girls in Ouran were just not normal.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x…………………………………..**

After school, Tamaki walked into the music room, running his fingers through his hair, sighing as he opened the door.

"M'lord," came two dark, identical voices in front of him.

He looked up and cringed at Hikaru and Kaoru's death glares as they stood in front of him, their arms crossed. Tamaki backed away into the double doors of the music room, a sweat-drop forming on the side of his head. "W-What…" he stuttered, his face going white.

"What."

"Is."

"This?"

Concurrently, they held up a sheet of paper with bold pink writing. Tamaki froze on the spot. "I-I've never seen that before in m-my life!" he proclaimed, his face going a deep shade of red.

"Oh really?" asked Kyoya behind them, seated at his desk, an eyebrow slowly raising on his forehead.

"Yes, I swear it!"

Hikaru and Kaoru exchanged glances, then looked down at the flyer they hold. 'Come To The Host Club Today, To See The New ADORABLE Couple of Tamaki and Haruhi!', it writ.

The twins sighed and shook their heads. "Haruhi won't be happy with this…"

Tamaki gasped, cringing as he imagined Haruhi in one of her angry moments. "Will Haruhi get angry?" he whimpered.

Hikaru and Kaoru gave each other side glances. They sneered at Tamaki. "VERY angry," they assured him.

"Ahh! Haruhi cannot be angry at me!" Frantically, he took the flyer from them, ripping it to shreds. Tossing them to the ground and stamping on them continuously, he stepped back, pointing a trembling finger to the remains of the flyer. "H-Hah! See? Now Haruhi will never know!"

"You're forgetting those," Kaoru and Hikaru told him, pointing to the back of them. All across the music room, in a scattered line, pink and white flyers were stapled, taped, and even glued to every place possible.

With a shriek, Tamaki took his hair by the roots, running in chaotic circles. "NO! They're EVERYWHERE!"

"Aha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

"Oh, great," Kaoru and Hikaru groaned, slumping their shoulders as the horrible gulped laugh shattered their ears.

Tamaki stopped dead, turning on his heel and scowling into the distance. "Renge-chan," he said in a low hiss.

Underneath them, the ground shook; slowly Renge rose on her spinning platform, in all her glory. Spreading out her arms dramatically, she sighed with bliss. "Ah, how beautiful boy and boy love is…"

"Boy and—?! Renge, I command that you take these down at once!" Tamaki cried, gesturing to the flyers scattered across the wall.

"Why should I?" Renge giggled. "There's too many to take down, anyone."

"How many did you make?" Kyoya wondered aloud.

"Oh, around one thousand. And nine."

"One thousand…and…nine…?" Tamaki whispered. Slowly, he crumpled to his knees, head in his hands. "I'm ruined…"

Renge hopped off her platform, bending down before him and patting his shoulder. "Oh, not to worry senpai, boys fall in love with their own sex all the time. Why, my friend, just the other day, said—"

"It's not that!" Tamaki wailed, holding up his head, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Haruhi will be so angry! If she…h-he finds out, and sees all these posters advertising our love—"

"Senpai," came a low voice from the door.

Tamaki stiffened, his head slowly turning; Renge looked past his shoulder to see Haruhi standing at the door, a poster clutched in her trembling fist. "What. Is. This."

Tamaki shrieked at her dark expression as her eyes lifted to meet his. "No, Haruhi's angry!" he whimpered, burying his face into his arms and rocking back and forth on his heels.

Renge stood, giving Haruhi a cat-like grin. "Hello, Haruhi!" she chimed, bouncing up to her. "Do you like my artwork?"

"You made these?" she asked in a dangerous voice, holding the flyer up in Renge's face.

"Hai!" Renge nodded, beaming.

With a sigh, Haruhi let her shoulders fall, the flyer floating to the floor. "I suppose it's useless to get angry over it…"

Tamaki looked at her over his shoulder with a pathetic puppy-eyed gaze. She snorted and looked away. The background behind him shattered, and in his mind, he tumbled into a depressing void of darkness.

Without warning, the doors of the music burst open with an ear-shattering bang. "TAMA-CHAN!" Hunny cried, sprinting through the doors, his arms held out in front of him.

Tamaki looked up, blinking in surprise. "Hunny-senpai, what…?"

Mori came rushing in next; with surprising agility, he pushed Haruhi away from the door, taking a chair and positioning it against the door. "Crowd coming," he panted, leaning against the door.

Hikaru and Kaoru sprang forward. "Guard the door!" they shouted, slamming their weight against the doors next to Mori.

Kyoya rolled his eyes to the sky. "Idiots…"

Haruhi blinked, not comprehending. "What's wrong?"

"You didn't think that the flyers would go completely unnoticed, did you?" Renge asked, a devilish grin curling her lips.

Haruhi's eyes went wide. "Oh."

"Quick, Haru-chan!" Hunny ran to Haruhi, tugging on her hand. "Hide in the closet with Tama-chan!"

"What?" she asked, her face falling into a disgusted expression.

"Yes, Haruhi! You must hide for your safety!" Tamaki shoved past Renge, taking Haruhi by the arm and pulling her towards the large room where Hunny kept all of his food. "We'll take refuge in here!"

Hunny slammed the door behind them. He whispered through the crack, "I'll tell you when it's all clear!"

Tamaki and Haruhi stood together for a mere moment; immediately, she pulled away. "Well, this is…wonderful," she sighed, turning away from him. "Why did she have to make those flyers…?"

"Vengeance is mine," Tamaki declared, clenching a fist, glaring into some unknown, inspiring light up in the corner of the ceiling.

Haruhi shook her head at her ridiculous boyfriend. "So weird," she laughed.

Tamaki shrugged, and lowered his arms, giving her a foolish grin. "A little," he agreed.

Outside, they heard the girls break through the door; over the huge noise, Haruhi could faintly hear Kyoya's voice yelling for order. Haruhi chuckled. "Poor Kyoya. He'll get nowhere with those girls."

Nodding, Tamaki added, "They get excited. Too excited." He turned to Haruhi, smiling. "I'm glad you're not like that."

Haruhi tilted her head to one side, frowning. "Like what?"

"Screaming. Tackling. Violent to see any Host member in action. Although your lack of dedication to the Host Club tends to get annoying at times…" Tamaki shrugged, smiling off to the side in an embarrassed way. "Despite that, it's another thing I love about you. You're just…normal."

Haruhi couldn't help but smile. "I thought you didn't like that."

Tamaki's eyes widened; he shook his head hurriedly. "No, of course not!" He took both her hands, pulling her closer to him. "Haruhi, I wouldn't change anything, strictly nothing, about you."

Her smile grew wider. This was just what she wanted to hear. Wrapping her arms around him, she buried her face into his chest. "Good," she murmured.

Tamaki let out a deep sigh, resting his head on hers, a relaxed smile on his face. The screaming girls outside grew to a faint murmur in his mind. All he thought about was Haruhi, in his arms. How he never wanted to let her go. How much he…

"What's that?" Haruhi whispered under him. He felt her go rigid.

"What?" He lifted his head, looking around the room with a cautious gaze.

"I heard…a sound. Like someone tapping their foot against the wall. Did you move?"

"No…where did it come from?"

Haruhi pointed to the corner across from them, behind a few cabinets. Regrettably, Tamaki had to let her go. With hesitant steps, he walked towards where the noise had come from. As he drew closer, he saw a blue and black form crouching against the wall. And as he went even closer…he saw that the uniformed figure had a mop of messy blonde hair.

"You," Tamaki growled, a scowl passing over his face. He flung the cupboards out of the way; they crashed against the opposite wall.

Haruhi flinched with surprise. "Tamaki?" she whispered.

Kunio sat against the wall, head bowed, his blonde hair hanging over his eyes. He lifted his head groggily at the sound. A stupid grin passed over his face. "Hey, cuz," he drawled, his words slurred.

"You're drunk," Tamaki stated, his tone filled with hatred. "Will you ever learn?"

"Eh, so what? Jussa coupla beers 'ere and there…" He shrugged, his arms flopping at his sides. "'Teachers'll get over it."

Haruhi stared at Kunio with a stern frown; he looked as drunk as her father used to look when stumbling in from his work. It brought back memories that she had shoved away long ago.

Tamaki took his cousin by the collar, hauling him to his feet. "Listen," he spat into his face. "I don't want _anyone _catching you like this—got it? You better pull yourself together and sober up, or else I'll fling you out that window and land you in the pond to wake you up. Understand?"

"Heh, stu'id Tamaki," slurred Kunio, shaking his head, leaning his weight against Tamaki's strong frame. "Al'ays tryin' to be the boss…b't always failin'." He gave out a harsh laugh, wiping his mouth across his blazer sleeve.

"Shut up, you're too drunk to make any sense," Tamaki growled, shoving him away. Kunio steadied himself against the wall to keep from falling over like the cupboards had.

"You're the idiot, Tamaki," he crowed. "I ain't the id'ot, despite all the people saying things say. You were the class reject, you w're the p…erp…" He frowned, teetering slightly over as he frowned down at his fingers, trying to get his words right. "_Person _that a'ways got beat up a'ter school, riiiight?" He barked out a laugh, leaning in close to Tamaki's face, the smell of alcohol drifting into the atmosphere. "You're the idiot, Tamaki Suoh, or whatever the hell your name is." With this, he picked up his bottle of wine from the ground, taking a hard swig.

Tamaki rolled his eyes; snatching the bottle from his cousin, he gave it to Haruhi in the back of him. "Here," he told her. Turning, he caught her wrist, looking at her pleadingly into the eye. "Haruhi," he said in a quieter tone. "I…I can't let anyone see him like this. It'd…ruin my father's reputation, if anyone caught him drunk."

Haruhi nodded, taking the bottle from his grasp. "I understand," she told him. "I'll create a distraction. Then he can walk away unnoticed."

Tamaki sighed; hung his head. "He's always like this," he whispered. "Always putting other people's reputations at risk. I'm sorry, Haruhi." He raised his eyes to hers, a lopsided smile on his face. "But really, what can you do when you're related to an idiot?"

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x………………………….**

**10 minutes later; in the food room located in the music room.**

"Aw, why'd yer girlfriend leave?" Kunio asked in a loud tone, reaching across the floor for his bottle. "I was just gettin' into the conversation."

"You don't even know what you're talking about," sighed Tamaki with a roll of his eyes. He stood against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. Without any effort, he pushed the wine bottle out of Kunio's reach with his foot.

"Tamaki Suoh, Tamaki Suoh," Kunio sighed, sitting back on his heels and grinning into Tamaki's face. "Sad little Tamaki Suoh. Ya know, you're the same li'le boy that always used to cry whenever someone took your felt pens. Ya haven't changed ooone bit, cuz."

"People rarely do, in the course of 4 years," Tamaki said, half to himself.

"You still get beaten up a'ter school, cuz? Or are the li'le classmates of yers nicer to ya now?"

"We're not in primary school anymore."

"B't we were, and ya gained a bruise ee-everyday." Kunio nodded solemnly, slumping back against the wall. "Why are we waitin' in this god-damned storage room, anyway?"

"Until the Host Club's over. I won't have Haruhi make a distraction all for your sake."

"Ah, THAT Haruhi. Nice girl. Whatta catch…wouldn't m'nd screwin' her myself."

Tamaki rounded on his heel, fist clenched. "Don't talk about her that way," he growled.

"Oh," laughed Kunio. "Ya gonna cry at me now? Like you d'd when I stole yer other girl?"

Tamaki unclenched his fist and let his hand go limp at his side. The memory suddenly came back, all to fresh, appearing in his mind..

"_Oh, Tamaki," Suzy fumbled, her hands playing with the bow that was tied around her waist. "I…cannot accept…your letter."_

_Tamaki blinked; smiled. "Why?" he asked. Surely she had her English wrong; it was all right, he'd just correct her. He loved correcting her. He loved guiding her around the school, watching her stammer over her own tongue as she tried to speak the French. It wasn't that he liked her messing up the language and becoming embarrassed—it was just that, whenever she messed up, she leaned on him for help. Supporting her, being her guide through every day of the school year, made him happier than anything else could._

"_I…am…in love with someone…else," she pronounced in her poor French._

_Tamaki's face fell. "You're…what?" he asked in a small, defeated voice._

"_In love with someone else."_

"_Wh-Who?"_

"_Kunio." _

"_Kunio?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Why?"_

"_I do not know. But he is funny!" she giggled, her beautiful face lit in a smile. And for once, she wasn't laughing at his jokes. She was laughing at the thought of Kunio. __**Kunio.**_

_Going rigid, Tamaki clenched his fists at his sides. "Oh," he said through tight lips. A great weight pressed at his heart._

"_Bye, Tamaki," Suzy smiled, waving. She turned, and skipped off to the car where her mother was waiting to welcome her with open arms. Obviously, she didn't understand how much her words pierced him._

"_In love with Kunio," Tamaki whispered. He found that he couldn't move. _

"_Hey, son of a slut," jeered a male voice next to him._

_He closed his eyes in irritation. Turning, he greeted his fellow classmates with a half-smile. "Hi," he said. "It'd be nice if you could refrain from calling me that every once in a while."_

_The group of rough, ugly-looking boys laughed rudely. "Oh, what, the poor blondy baby getting scared?" the leader laughed._

"_No; just tired." With this, Tamaki turned away; he felt a meaty hand grab his shoulder and spin him around again._

"_I wasn't finished talking to you, Suoh," he spat in his face. _

_Tamaki felt a sharp pain in his leg; one of the boys had kicked him. Unable to recover from the shock of it, he stood there, eyes wide. The fat boy's evil grin was the last thing he saw before he was knocked to the ground. _

_As they attacked him with fists and feet, crumbled dirt over his face, and laughed names in his direction, all he could think of was how he was going to cover the blood and the bruises when he got home to his sick mother…_

"No," Tamaki whispered, in an answer to Kunio's question. "No, I'm not going to cry."

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x…………………………………**

**Heh, shocked? I know, I know…I'm so horrible to Tamaki. He has a horrible past as it is. But I thought hey, why not pepper my story with a bit of bitter angst? P**

**Tamaki: I shall never forgive you, accursed author! –shakes fist in my general direction-**

**Author: -waves hand dismissively- Oh, hush, get over yourself…**

**Tamaki: Don't review her! She's mad!**

**Author: -thumbs up- Review me! I'm awesome!**

**Tamaki: -cuts in front of her- No, review ME!**

**Author: You didn't write a story, numbnut.**

**Tamaki: O-Oh…-retreats to corner of woe and weeps-**

**Author: -in a whisper with hands cupping over her mouth- Review me!**


	11. Aftershock: Part II

**Damn it, that stupid Kunio. He practically blew up my spell-check with his drunken words. Next time, I'm making a sensible character that has perfect English and flawless grammatical structure! –stomps off, muttering to self, pencil clenched in fist-**

**Translations: **

**Tsumaranaidesuyo: **How boring

**NOTE: **Yes, this chapter is long. Bear with me. A lot happens, and you must listen up, all of you! It took me a hell of a lot of time to write this, so respect my work and read all the way through! Read it in short spans, if you have to. Have coffee breaks in between. WHATEVER IT TAKES for you to digest this chapter!

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x…………………………………**

_Chapter 11: Aftershock Part II_

**Recap:**

"_Oh, Tamaki," Suzy fumbled, her hands playing with the bow that was tied around her waist. "I…cannot accept…your letter."_

_Tamaki blinked; smiled. "Why?" he asked. _

"_I…am…in love with someone…else," she pronounced in her poor French._

_Tamaki's face fell. "You're…what?" he asked in a small, defeated voice._

"_In love with someone else."_

"_Wh-Who?"_

"_Kunio." ………………_

…………………………………………………………………………

_Tamaki felt a sharp pain in his leg; one of the boys had kicked him. Unable to recover from the shock of it, he stood there, eyes wide. The fat boy's evil grin was the last thing he saw before he was knocked to the ground. _

_As they attacked him with fists and feet, crumbled dirt over his face, and laughed names in his direction, all he could think of was how he was going to cover the blood and the bruises when he got home to his sick mother…_

"No," Tamaki whispered, in an answer to Kunio's question. "No, I'm not going to cry."

**Story:**

**Music Room, Host Club Hours, 30 minutes after last scene.**

Sighing to herself, Haruhi leaned against her fist, elbow propped onto the table's slick surface. She stared out into the distance with an anxious frown, her fingers absently moving the pages of her Science book back and forth. Inside her head, even with the Host Club chaos around her, she could only think of Tamaki.

_Kunio's giving Tamaki more trouble than he should be worth. Is this why Tamaki hates him so much? Because he's continuously irresponsible? For some reason, I imagined Kunio as someone smarter…who wouldn't do something such as getting drunk…_

She looked over her shoulder, at Kyoya sitting at a table opposite to her, swamped in numbers as he balanced the Host Club's budget based on the money they spent for those expensive china cups imported from Russia. "I'm sure Kyoya-senpai knows something…" she whispered to himself. "I should ask…"

But before she could, her thoughts were interrupted.

"I hope you're happy, Haruhi," the twins growled from above her.

Yelping in surprise, Haruhi spun around, facing Hikaru and Kaoru with a surprised gaze. "H-Happy about what?" she stammered.

"We spent."

"The whole 10 minutes you were hiding in the closet with tono."

"Fighting off the mob."

"That was going."

Simultaneously: _"_After _you_."

Haruhi shrugged. "Why should I be happy about that?"

"They tripped over Kaoru and TRAMPLED over him!" Hikaru yelled, making a wild gesture to Kaoru's beat-up face. "Look at the bruises! Look at what you did to my poor younger brother's face!"

"I'm very sorry it happened, Kaoru," said Haruhi. "Now if you'll excuse me, I do have homework to do…"

"You should be thanking us," Kaoru reminded her in an injured voice. "While you were hiding and doing God-knows-what with m'lord in the closet, your crowd of over-excited fans were beating us to the ground!"

"Like I said, I'm sorry."

"It's not good enough!" both twins whined. "We risked our limbs for you!"

A sweat-drop hung from Haruhi's head as she stared blandly in their direction. "I'm sure…it wasn't that horrific…"

Without warning, Haruhi felt a heavy weight on her back slam her down against the table-top. "Haru-chan, you didn't tell us!" came an indignant voice from above.

"Wh-What?" asked Haruhi in a strangled voice, sinking under his weight.

"You didn't tell us that you and Tama-chan loved each other!" Hunny cried, tugging at her blazer. "Why did you keep it a secret? It's so kawaii!"

"Shh, Hunny-senpai!" Haruhi pleaded, looking around cautiously at the guests, waiting for an explosion. She tried to make Hunny quiet from her lowly height, but sadly did not succeed.

Thankfully, she heard Mori's steps come up behind them; she felt Hunny being pried off her person. "Mitsukuni," Mori said. "Hands to yourself."

"Thank you," sighed Haruhi in relief, rubbing a sore shoulder, straightening. "Mori-senpai, you always come at the perfect times."

Mori looked down at her, expressionless.

She stared back up at him, head tilted to one side. "What?" she asked. "Is there something wrong?"

He shook his head.

"Something…on my blazer?" Quickly, she averted her eyes downwards, checking the blue material for any blemish or stain.

"No…you just look…"

Haruhi frowned. "Look what?"

"Happier."

"Happier?"

Mori nodded, a small smile forming at her perplexed expression. "Since you've been with Tamaki. You've lightened. It's…good."

Haruhi opened her mouth to question; when something caught her eye. She turned her head, eyes widening at the hunched form of Tamaki coming towards her. "Senpai?" she asked. Shooting to her feet, she stepped over to him, frowning worriedly. "Senpai, what's the matter? Isn't Kunio…"

"He's still in there," Tamaki sighed. He gave her a tired grin. "Haruhi, you aren't calling me by my first name, like I asked you," he scolded lightly.

"Never mind that," Haruhi said, waving it off. "What of Kunio?"

"Fell asleep, the baka. He's snoring in the corner of the closet, and it doesn't look like he'll wake any time soon."

"Oh." Haruhi frowned into Tamaki's eyes. "What's wrong?"

Tamaki blinked in surprise. "Wrong?"

"You seem upset. Did Kunio say something?"

_Her bluntness never ceases to amaze me. _With a casual grin, Tamaki stuck his hands in his pockets, shaking his head. "No, nothing at all. Just tired."

Haruhi gave him a wary look; but said no more.

"Haru-chan, Tama-chan!" cried Hunny from afar. "They're back!"

Tamaki and Haruhi slowly turned their heads, and were greeted by a sprinting crowd of fan girls. A sweat-drop hung from both of their heads.

"Well…they certainly have a lot of energy," observed Haruhi as the crowd charged towards them.

"RUN!" Tamaki slammed into her, grabbing her hand and yanking her away from Mori and Hunny. The two cousins stared after them as an ocean of fan girls dashed after the two, screaming all sorts of questions about their relationships. The chase became so heated that some had to stop for a moment to kick off their hazardous heels high into the air.

Mori winced as one cracked against his head.

"Wow, Takashi, I didn't know that many people came to the Host Club!" gasped Hunny next to him.

"Ah," said Mori painfully.

"Oh, Mori-kun, Hunny-kun, it's simply horrible!" cried a group of girls who stopped to talk to them.

Hunny gasped, concerning crossing over his face. "What's horrible?"

"Haruhi-kun and Tamaki-kun's newfound relationship!" one of the girls wailed, dabbing her eye with a handkerchief. "I don't think I'll live to pass my exams from the pain…"

"Oh, Ayaka, hang in there!" the girls around her encouraged, crowding around her, fists clenched determinedly. "Just because you've lost Tamaki-kun doesn't mean you've lost all hope in living!"

Mori stared at them with a blank expression, rubbing the welt on the side of his head. For the countless time that week, he wondered if he would even begin to understand females.

"Oy, Haruhi!" Kaoru and Hikaru reeled in Haruhi towards them in her mid-run, positioning her between them. "We haven't finished talking to you yet!"

Haruhi, squished in between the two, let out a heavy sigh. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"

"And what's the secret between you and m'lord, hmm?" winked Kaoru in her direction. "How long have you been hiding your fantasies? We'd love to know." Simulteanously, he and Hikaru winked at her disgusted face.

"Bakas!" Tamaki shoved through the crowd of fan girls, who simply charged single-mindedly onwards, oblivious to the fact that their object of desires had gone out of their destructive path, pointing dead at the twins with a trembling finger. "Stop making a sandwich out of my daughter!"

"You sick, sick man," gasped the twins in a scandalous tone, their hands going over their mouths. "Making a girlfriend out of your daughter…the shame!"

Tamaki froze; turned a sickly shade of white. "W-What?! Okay, fine then! My girlfriend! Stop making a sandwich out of my…Wait." He looked around at the guests, who were giving him odd looks. "B-Boyfriend!" he quickly corrected. "Wait, no, not boyfriend! Because that would mean that I was…no! This…this is so wrong…" he whimpered, sinking to his knees, defeated.

Haruhi sighed, looking up to the ceiling. "Please…transport me home…" she pleaded to herself.

"Kyoya!" Tamaki crawled over to his friend, clutching the hem of his blazer. "We must return Haruhi…" his voice lowered to a whisper, "…to her normal sex!"

Kyoya shook her head, eyes closed in an unconcerned way. "I'm sorry, you'll have to live with your homosexuality for now. She still has to pay off her debt."

"B-B-But M-Moooom…."

A few feet away, Hikaru gave him a hateful glare; he snapped his view back to Haruhi, and gave her a devilish grin. "It seems your 'boyfriend' is having problems accepting his new orientation."

Haruhi shrugged. "He'll get used to it."

Hikaru blinked; frowned. _How can she be so casual when he's throwing her away like some…old toy? Look at him—he's not even paying attention to her! Just pleading at Kyoya's feet like a baby; as always._

Kaoru sighed. "This is getting boring. Come on, Haruhi, play with us. The guests aren't requesting anymore."

"Why not?" Haruhi asked.

"They're squeezing inside information out of Mori and Hunny; they've given up on us for getting the 'latest scoop' about you and Tamaki," said Hikaru, hooking his thumb over his shoulder. Following the gesture, Haruhi saw (to her irritation) all the guests crowding around Hunny and Mori, eyes and mouths wide as Hunny described in very elaborate detail everything he could possibly recall about Tamaki and Haruhi.

"Yokata…" sighed Haruhi. As she did, she gave Tamaki a side glance. He was sitting next to Kyoya, talking in an inaudible voice. They seemed like they were on a more serious subject now. _Why isn't…he talking to me? _she thought with a small frown. As soon as she did, she shoved the thought away. _Stupid._

"Please, Haruhi?" the tiwns pleaded, nuzzling their cheeks against hers.

She pushed away from them, frowning. "No, no. I have to finish homework. It's important."

The twins wrinkled their noses, giving each other disapproving glances. "Homework? Tsumaranai desuyo…" Trailing off, they walked away again, not interested in being bored to death by Haruhi's Math and Science.

Shrugging, Haruhi sat back down in her original spot: at her table that was showered with books. Oddly, she had more homework than usual… She tapped her pencil against her thick Math book's pages, frowning down at the algebra equations. Algebra. The masquerade. The start of that whole mess.

A memory of her dream: _Kunio, leaning over her, his lips curling into a sardonic smile. "Scared, Haru-chan?" he cackles. "Come back up here, be a good girl now. I'm not finished with you yet."_

A shudder ran up Haruhi's spine; she shut the book with a slam. _I don't want to think about Kunio. I don't want to think about Tamaki. I don't want to get confused. I just want to pass this Math test on Monday._

She nodded, her goal firmly set in her mind. Opening the book again, she scanned her eyes across the pages, looking for where she had left off.

Her vision was blocked as two hands went over both her eyes. "Haruhii!" chimed a voice beside her ear. "Three guesses who!"

Her shoulders slumping, Haruhi grumbled in irritation, making an effort to pry the hands from her face. "Senpaaai, I'm studying…"

"Correct!" Her homework book and pencil swung into view again as the hands were taken away from her face; the next moment Tamaki stuck his face in front of hers, beaming. "You're good at that, Haruhi!"

"Anyone can guess you, senpai," Haruhi sighed, scowling down at her book, of which she held in a choked grip.

"'Senpai'?" Tamaki gasped, clutching at his chest with a strangled gasp. "Is that…all I mean to you?"

"No," Haruhi said with a shake of her head. "It's just more comfortable calling you that."

"'Tamaki' only has one more syllable than 'senpai'," said Tamaki, making puppy-eyes in her direction. "Surely it wouldn't be too much trouble…one more syllable…"

"It would."

Tamaki's world shattered; he hung his head in defeat. "One can gain so many wounds…by saying a simple hello to their girlfriend," he whispered in a dramatized voice.

Haruhi shook her head, poising her pencil to the page and forcing herself to concentrate.

Tamaki raised his head; blinked in confusion when she didn't reply. Sliding into a chair next to her, he leaned forward to meet her eyes, his face inches from hers. "Haruhi…"

"What?" she asked, not looking up from her work as she scribbled down a few numbers.

"Did I do something wrong?"

Haruhi looked up, a surprised expression on her face. "Something wrong?" she repeated.

Nodding, Tamaki continued, "Said something wrong…acted like I shouldn't have acted…Did I?" Worry pooled in his eyes.

Haruhi shook her head. "No, no you didn't…I just want to study right now, that's all."

"I just don't want you to think that I'm…selfish."

Haruhi raised an eyebrow in his direction. "_Selfish?_" she scoffed, speaking it like a forbidden word. "Why would _you _be selfish?" A bit self-centered, maybe. But selfish? Never. Tamaki's personality made a point to make the two qualities contrast themselves entirely.

He shrugged, his nail digging at a small chip in the table's surface, his eyes downcast. "Only…I get…jealous when you're talking to the Host Club. Talking to Kunio. I don't want to appear over-paranoid, but I feel like you might…want to spend time with them more than you do with me." He let out a laugh, looking to the side. "That's why I say I'm selfish. I just want you to myself."

"That's not selfish," Haruhi told him.

"It isn't?" He met her eyes with a bewildered gaze.

"No. I sometimes get jealous when you're entertaining guests, and declaring your 'love' for them and all that. But I just…trust you," she shrugged. Not liking the gaze he was giving her, she averted her eyes back to her books. "That's all," she muttered.

Tamaki's face relaxed into a smile. "Trust, is it?" Leaning forward on his fist, his elbow propped on the table, he watched her intently as she wrote numbers dutifully on her paper, a small blush creeping to her cheeks. He said softly, so not to disturb her, "I'll wait until you're done studying, Haruhi."

_I'll always wait._

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x………………………………**

**  
One hour later; the end of the Host Club hours.**

**(You reading all this? BETTER BE! I'm whipping you non-reading idiots into shape! –blows boot camp whistle-)**

"Please come back soon," Kyoya told the last of the guests with a bright smile as they filed out through the door.

"Oh, we will!" giggled the group, hands delicately poised to their mouths. "After the scandal of Tamaki and Haruhi, we'll come back every day!"

Kyoya smiled wider, the financial advantage of what these girls will bring sprinting through his mind. "Have a nice day," he told them politely, beginning to shut the door behind them.

"Sayoonara, Kyoya-senpai," said the twins in a monotoned chorus as they passed him, walking through the half-opened door. "Your manners are heightening every day."

Kyoya rolled his eyes as the twins disappeared. This time, he made a point to shut the door faster. But before wood could collide with wood, a small figure flashed past his legs and dashed out into the hall. "Thank you for opening the door for me, Kyo-chan!" Hunny giggled, his hands clasped behind his back, rocking back and forth on his heels. "Don't forget Takashi!"

Kyoya stiffened as the tall form of Mori walked past him, holding the door before Kyoya could shut it in his face. "Ah," he thanked Kyoya. Hunny grabbed onto his hand, yanked his cousin down the hall, and they were gone.

"Finally," sighed Kyoya as he successfully clicked the door shut. Turning, he saw Haruhi and Tamaki standing behind him. Both held sheepish expressions, and looked over at him in almost a pleading way.

"What now?" Kyoya asked, crossing his arms, a frown on his face.

"Well…" Tamaki coughed, his face caught in an expression between shame and laughter. "You see…there's…"

"Senpai, just say it," Haruhi growled, nudging her elbow into his side.

"Say what?" demanded Kyoya.

"Kunio's in the closet," Tamaki blurted, wincing as he did. "He's been in there since the Host Club started."

Slowly, one eyebrow raised above Kyoya's lenses on his glasses. "Oh, really?"

Haruhi fumbled, "I wanted to tell you earlier, Kyoya-senpai, when Tamaki was in there with him, but…"

"You called me Tamaki!" gasped Tamaki.

"Yes, shut up. But you seemed busy, and I had homework, and…"

"Basically you're asking me for my help; to carry him out of here discreetly."

Both nodded. "It would be helpful," Tamaki admitted.

"Even though it's _your _cousin making an idiot of yourself…" grumbled Kyoya as he walked past them, digging the key to the closet out of his blazer pocket.

"It's not my fault!" Tamaki cried, rushing after him, prepared to defend himself. "I can't take responsibility for his actions!"

Kyoya rolled his eyes; jammed the key into the lock, twisting it angrily. "And why is he in the storage room, may I inquire?"

"Ano…" Haruhi bit her lip, giving Tamaki a side-glance.

"He's drunk, the baka," said Tamaki bluntly. "It explains why he was missing from last period."

"Ah. Again." Kyoya nodded; swung open the door. The light of the music room shed on the dim closet, revealing Kunio tucked into a ball in the corner, in a deep sleep.

"Just where I left him," scoffed Tamaki in disgust. "He always sleeps after drinking; it was embarrassing for him when he went to those countless parties."

Haruhi looked up at Tamaki. "You seem used to it."

"I am," Tamaki sighed, one fist resting on his side, a frown crossing his features as he stared at his sleeping cousin. "Even at fourteen, he was getting himself too drunk to stand. His mother never paid any attention, so…" He shrugged one shoulder, trailing off.

"Lifting him is the best option," sighed Kyoya, walking towards Kunio. He toed him in the side; Kunio didn't even stir. "A nuisance, that's what he is," Kyoya sighed with a shake of his head.

"I'm leading the campaign to boot him back to France," Tamaki declared, following Kyoya to his cousin. He seized his cousin's arms, hauling him upwards. "Grab his ankles," he instructed.

With a grunt of strain, the two hauled Kunio up into the air. "I'm a King," Tamaki growled to himself as they began the first steps towards the door. "Kings don't 'drag' people out of their own food cupboards!"

"I can help," Haruhi offered, taking a step forward.

Tamaki met her eyes with a hard gaze. "No," he told her. "Stay here until I come back."

"Why?" she challenged, crossing her arms as Kyoya and Tamaki shuffled past her, Kunio hanging between their arms.

"Because I'm walking you home."

Haruhi flared with indignation. "I'm capable of walking myself home!" she told him, following them to the door.

"Get that," grunted Kyoya.

With a sigh, Haruhi opened the door violently, glaring in Tamaki's direction. "Be quick," she growled, her syllables accented with anger.

"You get too angry at me, Haruhi," sniffed Tamaki with a small tear forming at the rim of his eye as he disappeared through the door. Kyoya gave Haruhi one last roll of his dark eyes as they evaporated into the hall altogether.

Haruhi sighed, peeking through the crack of the music room door as they carried Kunio down the hall. "Maybe I was a bit harsh…" she murmured to herself. Shrugging, she shut the door, turning around to gather up her books from the table.

One by one, she shoved them into her bag. "Math…Science…Literature…" She tapped her chin, studying the table before her. "What else did I bring? I'm sure there was something else…"

The door stirred open behind her. She turned, her face surprised. _They're back already?_

But it wasn't Tamaki nor Kyoya who stood before her; it was Hikaru. He raised his eyebrows in surprise, opening his mouth to find the words. "U-Uh…"

"Oh. Hi, Hikaru. Did you forget something?"

He shook his head stupidly; snapping himself out of his stupor he muttered, "I…forgot a book…"

Haruhi blinked. "Oh?"

He lowered his head, a blush rising to her cheeks. _Damn it, why am I thinking how cute she is __**now**_"Yeah, I'll just get it and…leave." Quickly, he walked over to one of the windows, snatching something from the windowsill. He turned to leave, when he saw Haruhi staring at him in confusion.

"Hikaru, what's wrong?" she asked him. "You seem…nervous."

"Nervous?" Hikaru scoffed, waving a hand dismissively in the air. "Why would I be nervous? It's just you, me…and this book." He waved it pathetically. "I have nothing to be nervous about."

"Still…" Haruhi said with a shrug. "Is it because of me and Tamaki?"

Hikaru winced as she used his lord's full name. "I…" He hung his head, his hair draping over his eyes. "It's…different now. Kaoru and I can't approach you without knowing that he…you…are a couple." _On top of me being in love with you._

"You don't have to feel awkward," Haruhi frowned. "I'm just as me as I ever was. If you think that he's controlling me in some way, he's not. Just because we're together doesn't change anything." She took a step towards him, her face concerned. "Unless it bothers _you_. Individually."

Hikaru lifted his head, eyes surprised. _She sees through me?_ He shook his head in denial, a scowl crossing his features along with a deep blush. "N-No!" he shouted, clenching his fist around his book, crumpling the paperback cover. "That's completely idiotic. Why would it bother me alone? It bothers me AND Kaoru. Not just me. So…no!" Angrily, he stormed past her, knocking her shoulder as he passed.

Haruhi took a step backwards, her shoulder smarting from the collision. "Hikaru," she said in a clear voice. "Stop."

He did. Turning his head, he growled, "What?"

Her eyes expressionless, she stepped forward, both her hands resting on his shoulders. She stared hard into his eyes. "When you get angry about something, Hikaru, it usually means that I'm right on target."

Hikaru swallowed hard; not because of her words but because of her touch. Improper thoughts creeped into his head as he stared into her determined gaze, felt her hands on his shoulders. If only Tamaki wasn't existent…he would take her into his arms…stroke her hair and tell her how much he cared…

In the rush of his thoughts, he stretched a trembling hand towards her face. His fingers brushed against her cheek. "Haruhi…" he wavered.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise; her arms dropped to her sides. "Hikaru?"

"I…" He gulped. "I don't know…."

Haruhi laughed, shocking him. "You don't know?" she asked with a smile.

Stupidly, Hikaru shook his head.

"Oh, that's okay. I always forget what I'm going to say as well." She stepped back from him. His touch left her cheek. "Well, when you remember, let me know."

Hikaru blinked, not comprehending. In a small way, subtly, Haruhi had rejected him. Hard. His eyes shadowing, he turned, the book stretching and ripping in his grip beyond all recognition. "I'll talk to you tomorrow," he grunted, and walked out of the door. Around his head, a storm raged.

As the door clicked shut behind him, Haruhi turned her back to the door, rubbing her arms, a sudden chill running through her. Her breath coming out in steady gasps, she stared down at the floor with a bewildered gaze.

_Hikaru…loves me…too? _She cringed at the thought. _But...how?_

**x.x.x.**

**Five minutes later.**

Tamaki found Haruhi sitting at the table where her books were scattered, absently rolling her pencil from one finger to the other. Her eyes stared absently out into the distance, her face expressionless.

He couldn't help but smile, letting out a sigh. So she _had _waited. Walking silently up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her, propping his chin on her shoulder. "Hello," he greeted.

"Hi," she sighed.

"Was I quick enough?"

"Thirty seconds too slow."

"Hmm. Probably because Kyoya nearly dropped Kunio down the stairs on the way. We had to get the Janitor to help us."

"And Kyoya-senpai paid him greatly to shut him up, I assume."

"Actually, no. He's an old family friend of his."

"Trust Kyoya-senpai…" Haruhi grumbled to herself. Detangling herself from Tamaki's grasp, she rose to her feet, stretching her arms high in the air. "Should we go?" she yawned.

Tamaki nodded; frowned. "Haruhi, is something the matter?"

She lowered her arms, staring at him with a stunned gaze. _How could he know? _"No, nothing at all. Why do you ask?"

"Just looking out for your wellbeing," he told her with a smile, picking up her bag and hanging it over his shoulder.

"Hey, that's mine," Haruhi protested, reaching for it in vain.

"Why can't I carry it?" asked Tamaki, his lower lip out in a pout.

"Fine, fine," Haruhi grumbled. "Where did you put Kunio, by the way?"

"Oh. In the car. The chauffer's driving him to Oto-san's mansion; let him deal with his drunken nephew." A triumphant smile on his face, Tamaki marched in the direction of the door. "Let's go!"

Shrugging, Haruhi followed. _At least he's happier. _As they walked through the door, Haruhi asked her one last question that had been ever prying on her mind. "Tamaki…" she began thoughtfully.

"Yes, darling Haruhi?"

Haruhi rolled her eyes at the name. "Do you mind everyone calling you homosexual? Now that our relationship has been put into full light?"

Tamaki shook his head solemnly, putting up his right hand in an oath. "I do not, in any shape, way, or form, regret dating you, or continue doing so. The Host Club can call its King homosexual, bi, or straight or whatever orientation they conjure up; but I will never leave my darling Haruhi in the darkness."

Haruhi gave him a shocked expression, her mouth slightly ajar. "I-I didn't say that!" she stammered.

"Say what?" he asked absently."

"That you would abandon me!"

"Oh, but yes you did, Haruhi," said Tamaki, waving a finger in front of her face. "You love me too much to bear the thought of me leaving you! Well, do not worry, fair maiden." Grabbing her hands, he smiled into her eyes, his own shining. "I will follow you till the ends of the earth!"

Haruhi raised an eyebrow. "I'm not taking a trip there anytime soon, so you don't have to worry…"

"She admitted it! She didn't deny!" Crying out in triumph, Tamaki sprinted ahead, leaping high into the air and occasionally clicking his heels together in mid-air. "Haruhi loves meee!"

"How in the _world _did he come to that conclusion…?" Haruhi sighed to herself, hand to her forehead, as she followed her impossible boyfriend down the hall.

Being Tamaki's other half was certainly a chore.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x……………………………………**

**Get used to Haruhi and Tamaki being in perfect harmony now…-evil cackle- Because something shall happen…quite unexpected!**

**Well not really. But I can create false anticipation, can't I? –innocent smirk-**

**Do thy duty! –swings sword valiantly in the air- Go forth, my readers! Review your all-powerful author! Bwahahahahahaha!!**

**Hikaru + Kaoru: Definitely high on her own hot air.**

**Tamaki: -dabs eye with handkerchief- Alas, there is no cure!**

**Author: -laughs hysterically, enjoying her temporary high from successfully finishing a chapter- I am invicible, I tell you! INVINCIBLE! –smashes a flowerpot with the tip of her blade in a wild motion- **

**Hikaru, Kaoru, and Tamaki: -stare- Scary….**

**-KuroHinote :) **


	12. Paranoia?

**I LIVE!! –screams at top of lungs- Finally, I have access to a computer, and FINALLY I can update!! My laptop broke, sorry folks. Blame it on technology.**

**Okay, you're probably eager to see what my mind's been broiling up for all you lovely people…so enjoy this next chapter! –evil chuckle-….**

**By the way, it's slightly depressive. I'm not sure why, it just…came out that way. –shrugs- I'm not to blame I swear! –ducks rotten tomatoes-**

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x**

_Chapter 12._

**Recap:**

Hikaru swallowed hard; not because of her words but because of her touch. Improper thoughts creeped into his head as he stared into her determined gaze, felt her hands on his shoulders. If only Tamaki wasn't existent…he would take her into his arms…stroke her hair and tell her how much he cared…

In the rush of his thoughts, he stretched a trembling hand towards her face. His fingers brushed against her cheek. "Haruhi…" he wavered.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise; her arms dropped to her sides. "Hikaru?"

"I…" He gulped. "I don't know…."

Haruhi laughed, shocking him. "You don't know?" she asked with a smile.

Stupidly, Hikaru shook his head.

"Oh, that's okay. I always forget what I'm going to say as well." She stepped back from him. His touch left her cheek. "Well, when you remember, let me know."

Hikaru blinked, not comprehending. In a small way, subtly, Haruhi had rejected him. Hard.

**Story:**

_**Translations: **_**Anata wa kaetta ho gaii: **It'd be best for you to leave.

**Mite: **look

**Hidari ni magate: **turn left

**Baka: **idiot, stupid

**Nan desu ka: **What is it?

**Ikagen ni tammate kuremasen: **Oh shut up

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.**

**Hikaru's room, 7:00 p.m.**

"I don't understand. Haruhi REALIZED what you were trying to say?"

Hikaru nodded, burying his wet face into the pillow. The rough material scratched against his tears. "It was _torment, _Kaoru."

His brother frowned. "Well, Haruhi is certainly getting smarter."

"Does it _matter_?" Hikaru sat up suddenly, clutching the pillow in his lap with tense fists. "She rejected me, Kaoru, that's all there is to it. Can you at least pretend to be sympathetic?"

With a grin, Kaoru poked his twin's cheek. "Then again, it'd be of great interest to our classmates if I told them you were crying over a simple girl."

"Shut up, Kaoru. Even you know that she's not just a girl." Shooting him a glare, he twisted around and flopped back onto the bed, hiding his face from his brother.

Kaoru sighed, fingering his nails absently. "Hikaru…I didn't know…that Haruhi meant so much to you."

"Huh?" Hikaru grumbled from somewhere deep in the pillow.

"Well, a couple of years ago we were taunting girls and making their life miserable. Now you're crying over one of them. It's weird how things change, that's all."

"Anata wa kaetta ho gaii," Hikaru told his brother in a dead tone.

"Fine." Kaoru stood, his hands drawing into fists. "I'll leave you alone." Marching to the door, he yanked it open and disappeared through it, the swiveling board of wood slamming behind him. The light of the hall snapped off Hikaru's body, leaving him to sulk in the dark.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x………………………………………**

**The next morning; in the halls before First Period**

"Ohayo, Haruhi."

Haruhi turned her head, smiling. "Ohayo gozaimasu, Tama—O-oh I mean Kunio-senpai," she ended awkwardly, taken aback by her mistake.

Kunio grinned. "I sound like him that much, eh?"

"Your Japanese is a bit more accented," she admitted. "But otherwise, yes." She turned, continuing her way down the hall, expecting Kunio to follow. He did. "Are you feeling better than you did yesterday?"

"Yester…? Ah. Yes, I am. You were there, were you?"

"You…can't remember?"

"No, people generally can't when they're hopelessly drunk like I was," Kunio laughed, his words coming easily on the scandalous subject. "I'm sorry you had to see it."

Haruhi frowned up at him, hugging her books to her chest. "Why were you like that in the first place, Kunio-senpai?"

"Good question," he told her, nodding. He weaved around a giggling group of girls, offering them a casual wave as he passed. He grinned down at Haruhi's questioning look. "If I knew why I snuck half a dozen beers to school yesterday and drank them to no end and got Tamaki embarrassed because of it, I'd tell you."

"Do you miss France?" Haruhi tilted her head to one side, keeping her eyes on his face. "Are you homesick?"

"Yeah. I miss France," lied Kunio.

"Hmm." After a moment, Haruhi continued, "I think that's pretty natural. Tamaki misses France from time to time, too."

Kunio stopped. Swivelled around in front of Haruhi, hands in his pockets, a grin playing at his lips. "The conversation always goes back to Tamaki, doesn't it?"

Haruhi blinked, seeing the hatred in his eyes. "Kunio-senpai…"

"What are you doing?" came the chilling voice behind Haruhi. She cringed, and slowly turned her head, expecting some kind of bizarre attack. A sweat-drop formed as she saw Tamaki, his face darkened by some unknown shadow (miming the special trait of Nekozawa). His tall figure towered over her.

"Hello, Tamaki," greeted Kunio with a small wave. "How nice of you to join our conversation. We were just talking about you."

Tamaki pushed Haruhi to the side, taking a large step in front of her. "Oh, really?" he growled. Haruhi, still stunned at being shoved aside so suddenly, raised an eyebrow at Tamaki's dark, intense voice.

Kunio smirked at his opponent. "Yup. Haruhi told me many _interesting _things about you."

"I did?" Haruhi asked.

Her input was ignored. "What she says about me can't be any worse than her comments about you," Tamaki parried, quite uselessly.

Haruhi stood stricken with confusion. What _did _she say?

"I didn't know you _meowed, _Tamaki," grinned Kunio.

"Meowed?" Tamaki repeated, his expression curious.

"Yeah. Haruhi passed on the information that you frequently meowed while—"

"OMIGOD! SO CUTE!" a girl screamed from across the hall. Stiffening, Haruhi, Tamaki, and Kunio turned their heads to see a very excited girl leaping in circles with a bear held high. "Look, everyone! Look what my boyfriend bought me for my birthday!"

Beside her, a very embarrassed boy shrunk into the wall and blushed deeply at the girl's outburst. But, thankfully, it had saved Haruhi and Tamaki's innocent ears from hearing Kunio's inappropriate lie.

Tamaki snapped his gaze back to Kunio, glaring. "_Don't _talk to my Haruhi again. I don't want her mind tainted by your fiendish ways!" Taking Haruhi by the arm, he walked away from Kunio, Haruhi in tow.

As they left, Kunio smirked to himself, arms crossed over his broad chest. His damage in that relationship had been done.

"Tamaki? Ow! Tamaki-senpai, let go of me!" The formal tag at the end of his name felt awkward and foreign passing through her lips, but it got him to stop. She snapped her arm from his fist, rubbing her sore wrist, glaring at her over-reactive boyfriend. "What in the world's the _matter _with you?"

Tamaki's shoulders slumped as he let out a heavy sigh, and he turned to face her. "Haruhi, I don't want to chain you any longer."

Her brown orbs flashed in a blink. "Eh?"

"Don't act like you don't know, Haruhi. I'm chaining you, aren't I? Ever since we became one, it's been restricting on who you can have feelings towards."

Haruhi stared. Failed to comprehend. "_What_?" she spat.

Tamaki didn't seem to realize how absurd he was beginning to sound. He continued in a low voice, his hair shadowing half his expressionless face, "You've liked everyone in the Host Club for some time now. It's evident. And now that Kunio's come…" He scowled at the ground, then met Haruhi's wide eyes. "Tell me, Haruhi: did you accept my feelings because you truly love me, or is it because I was the first one out of your admirers to ask?"

Haruhi was rendered speechless. Was it a joke? It couldn't be; looking into his eyes, she saw that he was being perfectly serious. What depressive, low self-esteemed, angst character had replaced her carefree, continuously happy Tamaki?

"Ah! Mite, mite!" a nearby girl gasped. "It's Tamaki-senpai and Haruhi-kun; _talking together_!"

This immediately attracted a swarm of Tamaki and Haruhi's fans combined, and within moments the two were drowning in devastated/ecstatic/screaming fans.

Shooting him a disapproving scowl, Haruhi grabbed Tamaki's arm and yanked him away from the crowd. They crawled, elbowed, and toppled their way through the sea of yellow and white uniform dresses, until they were sprinting down the hallway to a nearby janitor's closet.

"Follow!" a large second-year girl declared, stomping a size 11 foot and pointing dead in the retreating couple's direction.

"Hai!" they chorused, and charged.

"Haruhi! Hidari ni magate!" Tamaki called. Simultaneously they ducked through the closet door, slamming it behind them.

Of course, the fan girls charged mindlessly past, completely unaware of their disappearance.

In the dim light of the closet, it triggered in Haruhi's mind that she was pressed to Tamaki against the wall when she opened one eye. Looking up into his face, she asked, "Senpai? Can you stop crushing me? It's beginning to hurt."

"Gomen," Tamaki muttered, backing away.

Haruhi sighed, closing her eyes in frustration. "Now, what's this about? You're not acting normal at—"

"Do you like Kunio or don't you?" Tamaki cut her off, swiveling around to stare into her eyes. In his own kindled a fire of madness, of obsession. Haruhi pressed against the wall, afraid of it.

"Wh-What do you mean?"

"Kunio and you. Do you like him?"

"Why not? He's nice."

Tamaki nodded, giving out a bitter laugh. "_Nice_," he repeated.

"What's wrong with Kunio?" Haruhi challenged. "Why are you paranoid?"

Tamaki fell silent, looking away.

"I don't understand you. Yesterday you were happy and nothing was wrong; now, just because I talked to Kunio before class, you're shouting at me!" She took a step forward, pointing a finger erect into his face. "Yes, I feel chained, Tamaki. But that's because I can't talk to anyone without getting question after question from you."

His silence, and the fact that he wouldn't make any sort of eye contact with her, just made her all the angrier.

"Why ask me about our relationship? Yes, the Host Club is special to me, but if doesn't mean that I love them all romantically." Her fists clenched; angry tears prickled her eyes. "I _love _you, baka, and if you're too blind to see it, then…" She placed a hand on the door handle, opening it sharply, scowling at him over her shoulder. "…then maybe we should forget we were ever a couple, Tamaki Suoh."

He winced as the door slammed behind her. But he still said nothing.

"Haru-chan!" Hunny chimed, as Haruhi marched down the hall, her face contorted in anger. He stopped in the middle of his journey to her, face melting into a worried frown. "Haru-chan? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Hunny-senpai," she murmured, making an awkward beeline around him. Her shoulder was caught by Mori's hand, and she met his concerned eyes.

"Nan desu ka?" he asked her.

She hid her eyes by averting them to the floor. "Nothing. I need to get to class."

Mori let her go, and she walked off, her head hung in a dejected position. Both cousins gave each other a glance.

"Where's Tamaki?" Mori asked.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x………………………………………..**

**During break, in the empty Science lab**

Hikaru's frown deepened, and he shyed away from Tamaki's sneering cousin. "I-I don't want to," he said quietly, looking away.

"No? Oh, come on," Kunio chuckled. "You want that Haruhi girl. It's all too obvious. Why not win her back? It's evident she likes you too, you know."

Hikaru rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "That's going a bit over the line with lies, isn't it?"

"Hmm, you're right. I was hoping you'd buy it anyway. But, getting to the point," Kunio continued, sitting at a rickety desk, "you can still have your chances with her. Tamaki and her relationship isn't very deep, and in my opinion, it's not going to last for much longer.

Hikaru raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Kunio nodded, his grin returning. "You'd have to help me, though. Tamaki will have to be…worked on."

"Huh?"

"Well, the only way for Haruhi to break up with him and come crying to you is to reveal some scandalous secret of his." Kunio leaned forward onto the desk, his chair creaking with his weight. "Tamaki exposed. All his shameful weaknesses revealed. Then Haruhi will get disgusted and drop him with a bang. Follow me?"

Hikaru nodded slowly. "And…what does that have to do with me?"

"Well, you're with him every day. You'd have to be even remotely close to him." A devilish glint entered his eye. "Tell me, Hikaru: have you heard anything about him and Kyoya's relationship?"

"Their _what_?" Hikaru yelped, springing to his feet.

"Relationship," Kunio repeated, mood calm. "They were involved with each other romantically at one point, weren't they?"

"N-No!"

"Hmm. We'll have to somehow pry it out of Kyoya, then."

Hikaru whacked a palm on Kunio's desk, leaning forward to scowl into Kunio's distasteful face. "Is _that _how you're going to 'ruin' Tamaki? By saying that he's GAY?"

"He acts it enough," shrugged Kunio.

"You're messed up," Hikaru announced. Straightening, he adjusted his blazer. "I can get over Haruhi. I won't assist in the defeat of someone that I respect."

"Respect?" snorted Kunio. "Who in their right mind can respect Tamaki? He's—"

"Ikagen ni tammate kuremasen," Hikaru sighed, turning on his heel. "You're boring me."

"Not living up to your reputation as the 'devil twin', are you?"

Hikaru glared at Kunio. "I'm not stooping that low. I _don't _accept your offer, and never will." Letting those words put an end to the conversation, Hikaru walked out of the classroom, the door slapping shut behind him. 

Kaoru, Hunny, and Mori met him in the hall with eager eyes. "Well?" Kaoru persisted, placing a hand on Hikaru's shoulder.

Hikaru met his brother with eyes of steel. "Tamaki's cousin needs to go."

The 3 Host Club members nodded in vast agreement.

"As soon as possible," Mori said in a dangerous tone. The way Kunio treated Hunny still hung fresh in his mind.

"But…he won't go easily," Kaoru said in a soft voice, his eyes averting to the ground.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x………………………….**

**Lunchtime; outside of the lunchroom.**

Kunio's eyes scanned across the lunchroom, through the small slit of window in the door. He saw Haruhi, sitting alone, distancing herself from the rest of the Host Club. Tamaki and Kyoya sat a few tables away from her, neither of them saying a word. There wasn't much to be said. Both Tamaki and Haruhi had eaten nothing on their plates; they simply stared at the tabletops, and drew imaginary lines with their index fingers.

"Both depressed as hell," Kunio muttered to himself. He had to admit, seeing Haruhi in pain wasn't as satisfying as it could be. She had something likeable about her; something he quickly dismissed. But Tamaki—the depressed expression on his face Kunio relished.

With a grin at this thought, Kunio turned on his heel, continuing down the empty hall, a spring in his step. Through his lips passed a jaunty whistle.

_Finally, Tamaki isn't getting everything, _he thought with a smirk.

In his mind blurred a memory, that sharply turned to great detail. He frowned, staring at the ground, letting the thoughts of the past consuming him….

"_Mommy," says the five-year-old Kunio, his face barely visible over the rim of the tabletop, a crayon clenched in his hand. "Who do you like better?"_

_His mother, absorbed in her paper, coffee cup raised to her lips, asks in an absent tone, "What's that, hon?"_

"_Look." Kunio holds up a picture over his breakfast cereal; a picture of two blonde boys drawn in clumsy green and yellow crayon. "Who do you like better? Me or Tamaki?"_

_His mother looks up, giving him a curious look; something between confusion and pain. "What sort of question is that, Kunio baby? Of course I love you more. Tamaki is your aunt's son."_

"_I know, but you spend more time with him and his mommy than you do with me," Kunio sniffs, itching his scruffy blonde hair._

_His mother's look softens. She leaves her chair and kneels down beside him, wrapping her arms around his small body. She buries her face into his small shoulder. "Baby, things will get better," she whispers into his ear. "I promise. One day, you'll have me all to yourself. I'm just…busy right now." Her grip tightens, and her voice catches. "I promise we'll be together every day soon, love."_

_Kunio nods, his wet eyes looking to the grey wall opposite of them. He knows that his Mom loves him better than Tamaki, than his aunt, than those men that she takes past his door and to her bedroom every night. _

Like a fool, he hung onto that promise.

'_We'll be together every day soon, love.'_

"Fat load of bull," Kunio muttered, ducking into a nearby classroom. A sharp twist of his will, and his mind flashed back to the present time.

No use dwelling on memories, after all.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x**

**Hopefully that gave you some insight on Kunio…he's quite the Mommy's boy, isn't he? –evil grin- Not so tough anymore, is he?**

**But do not be fooled; there is more! **

**Press that lovely little button on the bottom of the screen and see great things…Oooh! –eerie whistle-**

**Again, sorry for the irritating delay!**

**-KuroHinote**


	13. Your Fault, My Fault

**Hello all! I updated faster this time, isn't that great? I'm sure you don't want to hear me rambling, so I'll cut straight to the chase!**

**By the way, thanks to Keith, my new anonymous reviewer! Sign up for fanfiction so I can reply to all your awesome ideas, ne? Your reviews are great haha!**

**Disclaimer: I'm hot, tired and irritated, so this chapter may not be the greatest in the world. But hey I'll try. Oh, and I don't own OHSHC whatsoever.**

_Chapter 13._

**Recap: **

"Why ask me about our relationship? Yes, the Host Club is special to me, but if doesn't mean that I love them all romantically." Her fists clenched; angry tears prickled her eyes. "I _love _you, baka, and if you're too blind to see it, then…" She placed a hand on the door handle, opening it sharply, scowling at him over her shoulder. "…then maybe we should forget we were ever a couple, Tamaki Suoh."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

'_We'll be together every day soon, love.'_

"Fat load of bull," Kunio muttered, ducking into a nearby classroom. A sharp twist of his will, and his mind flashed back to the present time.

No use dwelling on memories, after all.

**Story:**

_**Translations: **_**Issho: **together

**Baka no Tono: **idiotic lord

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x……………………………………….**

**The next day, 4:00, Music Room**

The Host Club and their guests lost control.

Haruhi stood against the wall, tray hanging loosely in her hand as she surveyed the frenzy with a very irritated gaze. The panic? That was the Host Club yelling amongst each other and the guests harbouring the argument from a safe distance, their eyes sparkling with admiration.

"It's even more attractive when they fight!" gasped one.

Haruhi breathed out a long, exasperated sigh.

What had triggered the wild outburst? Hunny's cake, mainly. And Kyoya's mention of a new event he had thought of recently. Not to mention the new waterguns. As Tamaki grabbed a chair and swung it high in the air, threatening to whack Hikaru over the head with it, Haruhi contemplated how the Host club had gotten to that violent point in the first place…

**10 Fateful Minutes Before…..**

Hunny's wide brown eyes stared down at his empty plate, licked clean by his finger and fork. He kept staring even as his guests and Mori leaned closer to see what was wrong.

"Takashi…" Hunny's vision raised to Mori's eyes, his sweet face twisting into a frown. "Keki ga…notte imasen ka?"

Mori's eyes widened; Hunny's guests stifled a gasp, their spines stifling.

Hunny turned his gaze to the girls who were as of then dripping in nervous sweat. "Where's more cake?" he asked again, tilting his head to one side.

Snapping back their heads, the girls shrieked, "KIREI!!"

One wailed, "Oh Hunny-senpai, we can't bear it!"

"Mitsukuni, the cake is gone," Mori reported in a low voice.

"_Gone?_" Hunny awed.

"Yes. There's no more."

Tears prickled Hunny's eyes as he stared back down at his empty place. "But..,that was only…my third one…"

"Hunny-kun, don't worry!" the girls panicked. "We'll get more! We'll go to the store now!"

"It'll be too late by then!" Hunny sobbed.

"Oh, Hunny-kun!"

Haruhi, noticing the disturbance, walked to the table with a curious expression. "Hunny-senpai, what's the matter?"

"Haru-chaaan!" He leaped into her arms, burying his face into her shoulder. "There's no more _cake_!"

Haruhi blinked in confusion. "Yes there is."

"What?" gasped Hunny's guests.

"Some was just delivered, a few minutes ago. Along with the water guns."

"Water…guns?" Mori asked with a blank look.

"Hikaru and Kaoru ordered them," Haruhi shrugged.

Relieved, the guests sighed, "Arigatoo gozaimasu Haruhi…!" as Mori sweatdropped, sinking into his chair with embarrassment.

"Yay!" Hunny cried, bouncing back into his chair. "Thank you, Haru-chan!"

"I'll go get it, I suppose," Haruhi offered in a tired voice, pivoting on her heel and walking in the direction of the food cupboard door. As she did, she passed Tamaki and a few of his guests. A frown creased her face. He was in the prime of his flirting, smiling graciously down at a dark brunette, whispering to her romantic words, causing her to swoon. He knew Haruhi was passing him; but he didn't make eye contact with her.

_We're in the middle of a fight; he could at least show some decency! _Haruhi thought, feeling the need to whack him over the head with her tray. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself not to care, and moved on.

On the couch, Tamaki sighed and clasped his hands together in his lap, looking off into the distance. _How depressed a King is when not loved by his princess…_he thought mournfully.

"Tamaki-kun?" asked the brunette next to him, touching his shoulder gently. "Can I ask something?"

He smiled at her. "Of course."

"Why are you here talking with us, when you should be with you, erm…" She trailed off, her cheeks tinting an embarrassed red.

"Your boyfriend," one of the brave girls added over her friend's shoulder.

Tamaki's eyebrows raised in surprise; he looked away. "We're…in a fight at the moment," he admitted quietly.

"_Really_?" gasped the girls.

"Is it because of your sudden orientation?" the brunette asked.

"Nani?"

"Maybe you rushed into the…." She whispered the last words, "_gay_ relationship too quickly?" 

Tamaki waved off that comment with a tired laugh. "No, we're just in an argument. About other things."

The brave friend of the brunette's said, "Tamaki-kun…we're sad that you're taken, and Haruhi's fans are simply devastated, but at the same time we're glad you've found someone to make you happy."

The brunette nodded in agreement. "But now, you're depressed, and we're even sadder that you and Haruhi-kun are angry at each other."

Tamaki sighed, his shoulders slumping. "But…"

"If you really love someone, even if the relationship _is_ a bit odd to some people, you apologize for whatever you've done. Right?" grinned both the girls.

Tamaki blinked, contemplating this. Why should he be afraid to apologize to Haruhi and make up for whatever he had done? His face blossomed into a smile, and he took the brunette's hand, leaning close to her. "Thank you," he whispered sincerely.

"Y-You're w-welcome," melted the lucky girl, swooning back into her friends, pierced by the emotion in his eyes.

"Mind if I have a word, Tamaki?" smirked a voice behind them.

Turning his head, Tamaki blinked at Kyoya who towered over him, a clipboard tucked under his arm. "What is it?"

"You'll hear about it if you come over here."

Tamaki nodded, and smiled at his guests. "Excuse me, ladies," he apologized, rising to his feet.

"A-Anything for Tamaki-kun…" they gasped, tears strolling down their cheeks.

He met Kyoya with a large smile. "Yes, Kyoya?"

Meeting Tamaki with a very serious gaze, Kyoya said, "Tamaki, as a result of you and Haruhi's relationship, you have drastically dropped in guests."

"Oh, that's okay!" Tamaki assured him. "Half our guests are on a European exchange, so—"

"No good," Kyoya announced, slamming the clipboard over Tamaki's head, who yelped in pain. "Something has to be done about the loss. Little guests means little income."

"Then what do you suggest?" winced Tamaki, fingering the tender bump rising out of his head.

Kyoya grinned at the brilliance of his plan. "As a consequence, Haruhi and you will be hosting, organizing, and launching a fair as an official Host Club event this Saturday."

Tamaki's jaw dropped and he waved his arms frantically in the air. "but…but…!"

"It won't be much work. Hikaru and Kaoru have offered to help with the smaller, odder jobs."

"Of course they would!" Tamaki flamed. "They're determined to see my demise! But its not that! It's just that…" Tamaki's voice became hushed, and he leaned closer to Kyoya to mutter the reason, "…Haruhi and I are in a very brutal argument. We can't _possibly _host it!"

"Haruhi's reasonable. You'll come to a peaceful conclusion." With a mischievous grin, Kyoya trailed towards a nearby table to finish his work.

"No, Kyoya! You don't understand!" Tamaki rushed after him, yet keeping a wary eye on his dangerous clipboard. He reached to grab Kyoya's blazer, to stop him; Kyoya glanced at the situation and simply stepped out of Tamaki's way. Tamaki's eyes widened as he lost his balance—and fell smack into Hikaru.

"What the—!" Hikaru spun around, tea split down the front of his blazer and white shirt.

"Oh." Tamaki sprang back as Hikaru's face dissolved into a very dark look. "G-Gomen—"

Hikaru snapped into action. Snatching a loaded water gun from Kaoru's hands, he swivelled the point of the gun straight at Tamaki's white face.

Haruhi turned her head. Her eyes widened in shock at the scene.

A smirk tugging at his lips, Hikaru pulled the trigger. Tamaki shouted a very ungentlemanly curse and tackled Hikaru to the ground, the stream of water shooting into the air. Water flew straight onto Hunny's cake just as the small third-year poised to take a bite.

Hunny gasped, and scowled in their direction. "That was my last cake!" he declared, pitching the plate at Tamaki's face.

His guests gasped and watched with a growingly horrified gaze as the cake trailed down Tamaki's face and into drips on the floor.

Hunny realized what he'd done. "G-Gomenasai, Tama-chan!"

Tamaki drew to his full height, pointing down at Hunny, who was trembling with fear. "NO ONE hurts the King and gets away with it! You will—"

Hikaru scoffed, knocking his fist into Tamaki's ankle.

"BAKA!" Tamaki rounded up for a kick. "You will pay!"

"Not unless you want me to organize _another _event that involves you and Haruhi griping at each other, possibly ending your relationship…" Kyoya said in an absent voice from his chair.

"What do you mean, an _event_?" demanded a voice from somewhere behind.

The Host Club spun around to see Haruhi, standing behind Kyoya's chair, arms crossed. "_Well_?" she pressed.

Hikaru and Kaoru, on the same train of thought, crept towards Haruhi, grins on their faces. "A special event, Haruhi…"

Kaoru wrapped his arms around Haruhi's waist, his lips inches away from her cheek. "…with just us three…."

Hikaru's arm draped over her shoulders, he leaned in close and flashed her a wink. "Issho."

Fists clenched, Tamaki stomped towards the twins, determined to win back Haruhi. "Hentai! Unhand my—"

"Oh _yeah_?" Hikaru challenged, his index fingering pulling down the skin under his eye to twist his face into an obnoxious expression of mockery. "And who's to say she's _yours_?"

Tamaki stopped. "Nani?"

"Well, Haruhi?" Hikaru grinned at her profile, twirling a dangling piece of her chocolate brown hair. "Do you _really _want to be owned by m'lord?"

Kaoru frowned over at his twin. "Hikaru…"

Haruhi sighed, pushing the leering twin away. "I don't think it matters."

"Oh, but it _does, _Haruhi," Hikaru persisted, leaning in close to her. Softly, for no one else's ears but hers, he whispered, "Haruhi, don't tell me you want _him._"

Haruhi turned, perplexed. "Why…do you sound so angry?"

"DAME!" Tamaki sprinted towards Hikaru, chair held high, his battle cry resounding through the air. Hikaru broke away from Haruhi, and ran to the other side of the table, fearing for his life. Hunny cried, "Tama-chan, violence isn't good!" Kyoya sighed and looked to the ceiling as he rolled his eyes in exasperation. Kaoru yelled at his 'baka no tono' from afar. Haruhi backed away from the violent outbreak, eyes wide, too pierced with shock to yet feel anger.

Fans shrieked. Water guns blasted. Chairs clattered. Kyoya yawned.

And, therefore, the Host Club and their guests lost control.

The tray in Haruhi's hand tightened as anger flared inside her. A glare tightening her features, she walked with determined steps towards the three fighting members of the club.

Hikaru and Kaoru snatched water guns off the table and crouched behind a chair, blasting Tamaki as he clambered towards them. His chair-weapon crashed against their barricade and separated the twins. Hikaru went for Tamaki; and they caught each other in a headlock.

"Yammate!" Haruhi commanded, her tray cracking over Hikaru's head. With a dazed expression, he slid off of Tamaki and to the floor. Tamaki blinked at his suddenly girlfriend in shock.

"This isn't a wrestling match!" her voice boomed across the empty room. "Your guests don't want to see your fights. Act like a Host Club."

Tamaki and Hikaru stood to attention, nodding sharply as a large lump began to form from Hikaru's head.

Haruhi's frown remained on Tamaki's face. "It's immature," she stated.

Taking a step forward, Tamaki reached out his hand in her direction. "Haruhi…"

"I found cake!" gasped Hunny. Holding a plate from the food cupboard high, he beamed at the guests. "See? Haru-chan was right!"

Immediately, Mori and the guests broke into enthusiastic applause. "Hurray, Hunny-kun!" screeched his fan-club.

In the midst of the noise, Haruhi spun on her heel and walked towards the door. She felt too frustrated to stay.

"Haruhi!" Tamaki ran after her; seized her shoulder. "Haruhi, I—"

"Tamaki," she cut him off. She frowned at his concerned expression "Why do you hate Kunio so much?"

"H-Huh?"

"Why do you hate Kunio so much?" she repeated, slower and with clearer syllables.

"I-I…why is this relevant?"

Her shoulders dropping, she let out a sigh and turned her vision away. "It's nothing," she lied, avoiding explanation.

"Ah, Haruhi, there you are," Kyoya greeted, practically materializing beside them. Tamaki's spine stiffened with surprise. "I've been meaning to discuss something with you."

"You mean…the event?" Haruhi winced.

"Kyoya, _no_!" Tamaki growled, miming a cutting motion across his neck repeatedly.

"Yes," smiled Kyoya. He ignored Tamaki, naturally. "You and Tamaki will be hosting a fair. That includes putting extra work into it."

"Oh."

"Due date's in two days," Kyoya added cheerfully as Haruhi turned, her hand resting on the doorknob.

"Fine, Kyoya-senpai." She faced the door. "I have to go early. To an appointment. I hope that's okay."

"As long as the guests won't mind," was the nonchalant answer.

"Tamaki-senpai?"

"O-Of course, Haruhi," Tamaki flustered, his sweaty fingers fidgeting with the buttons of his blazer.

"Bye, then." A sharp yank of the door, a click; and she was gone.

Kyoya grinned at Tamaki. "Bakana. That was your perfect opportunity."

Tamaki blinked in confusion, turning to his friend. "For what?"

"To apologize to her."

On his features crossed utter anguish. Tamaki tore his hair by the roots, wailing, "No, _really_?! Damn it!" He slammed his forehead against the door, fists clenched, a dramatic shadow hanging over his head. "I'll _never _understand the ways of love," he declared in a defeated whisper.

Kyoya shrugged, turning away. "Well, I'll leave you there to wallow…I have work…"

"It's Kunio's fault," Tamaki added in a soft voice.

Kyoya whipped around. "What?"

"Kunio's fault. That Haruhi's mad at me."

"You're blaming him?"

"Yes, because he _is _to blame!" Tamaki straightened, his eyes piercing Kyoya's dark orbs. "Didn't you see what he did? What he's done?"

"Take responsibility for your own actions," Kyoya told him. "Not blame others."

Tamaki's shoulders sagged; he expected Kyoya, of all people, to be on his side. "H-Huh?"

"Haruhi's angry because of your paranoia towards Kunio. That baka didn't do anything to mess this situation up. Not this time."

The blonde's face darkened. "You're saying he's _innocent _of everything he did?"

"None of this is his fault, Tamaki. If you explain to Haruhi, she'll understand."

Tamaki shook his head, looking away. "Kyoya…I can't explain." His wounded look, mingled between confusion and pain, turned to Kyoya's face. "It's too…complicated."

Eyes closing in frustration, Kyoya said, "Fine. Leave her in the dark. Have it your way."

"I will," Tamaki agreed in a hard voice. Turning on his heel, he gripped the door, and slammed his way out.

"But it'll deeply wound whatever relationship you have with her," added Kyoya in a low voice.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x……………………………………….**

"So, Haruhi." Ryoji Fujioka raised his head, smiling with a freshly makeup face in Haruhi's direction across the table. "How was school today?"

Haruhi shrugged, her eyes remaining on her schoolbooks spanned out a safe distance from her food. "Normal," she lied. The water guns and Tamaki's chair flying through the air passed across her thoughts.

"Oh." Ryoji tapped his chin in thought with his chopsticks, frowning at his daughter. "Well, if anything pops up, you're welcome to tell me!" he assured her, digging back into his sukiyaki beef.

Haruhi nodded absently, her pencil slowly trailing its way across the page. What her father couldn't see, was the led of her pencil scratching into different types of writing Tamaki's name over and over across the page.

_To detach from him…or not?_

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x……………………………………….**

**Sorry, the last bit was rushed. Gar, I wasn't sure how to end this chapter…-growls under breath at deadlines-**

**Well, gotta go, my ride's here! (I typed all this super speedily at school, computer's still broken). I swear the next chapter will be better, and happier for that matter…**

**Thank you, my faithful readers, for sticking by me, despite my EXTREME slowness! **

**Review much? –hopeful smile-**

**KuroHinote xx**


	14. Too Late To Apologize?

**Hello, fellow readers! It's been exactly a week since I updated…my updates are getting quicker and quicker! –grin- I'm trying to finish this until exams come…because when they do I'll have literally no time.**

**Okay, so I don't feel very humorous right now, actually I'm very depressed, so this chapter won't be as funny as the last ones (well my ATTEMPT at funny anyway) so I'm sorry if Tamaki isn't as hysterical as normal or the scenes aren't that funny…But hey we can have a melancholy chapter every once in a while, can't we? **

**Disclaimer: I do not own OHSHC...so….go sue someone else. :P**

_**Chapter 14. **_

Loveless is an anime that involves two main characters that are homosexual, but I love it anyway. Has a great theme song, I must say…

**Translations: Dame: **a very harsh 'no'

**Recap: **

Haruhi nodded absently, her pencil slowly trailing its way across the page. What her father couldn't see, was the led of her pencil scratching into different types of writing Tamaki's name over and over across the page.

_To detach from him…or not?_

**Story: **

_A rose without thorns is a rose without a soul._

Tamaki's head rested deep into his white feather-down pillow. A sigh rose his chest. Fingering his soft blue sheets, he recalled his mother's desolate words.

_A rose that is without a sharp stem can't call itself a symbol of love._

He turned on his side. A headache struck the battle drums in his skull. "Missed your chance to apologize! Missed!" taunted a mini version of Kyoya in his mind with a toothy grin.

_Love always has a sharp side, Tamaki. A side that will pierce you like a thorn and make you bleed._

Tamaki's eyes closed. He focused on getting those words—his mother—memories—_Haruhi_—out of his mind. Sleep willed to take him.

_But then you remember the rose's beauty and how lovely it is; and you attempt to pick it again, regardless if it pricks you again or no._

Thoughts foggy in Tamaki's mind…thank God he was going; tears were just beginning to dawn to his eyes…

Last vision before collapsing into dream: A soft smile touching her lips, his mother whispers before fading, _Every rose has its thorns, Tamaki…._

Then; _then _came the nightmare.

_Bliss. Joy. Unexplainable relief. All flood into Tamaki's heart and make a temporary home. This is as he dances, as he twirls his partner across the dance floor, awing all in the room. A spin—a flash of her silver chain around her delicate neck—and Haruhi's bright face appears. She's smiling. In her eyes, the stars reflect themselves._

_Taking her gently into his arms, the music relaxes them into a steady, calm waltz. A grin flashes across his face. Leaning in towards her ear, Tamaki whispers playfully, "Shall we ditch these amateurs and have a bit of 'quiet time' in the garden, princess?"_

_Her head jerks back; she blushes and says something in feeble protest. Tamaki laughs, and they part. Haruhi lets go of his hand momentarily to fly into a gliding turn. Tamaki looks towards the orchestra, smiling, encouraging them to play louder. _

_Playing the cymbals a very familiar blonde smirks at him, and obeys his command, so that thunder crashes into his ears…_

_He turns back to Haruhi, to catch her hand: and grabs empty air._

_Tamaki's eyes widen. Haruhi had disappeared, without a trace, from the dance floor. He screams her name—runs through the thick crowd—into the garden—Nothing. _

_Cymbals. Chaos. Kunio! He' s the cause, Tamaki knows that he has to be. He __**always **__the cause, isn't he? Stealing his first love from him, the revealing of Tamaki's secrets, the fact that he was an outcast all during Junior High and Primary School, the __**murder**__…All of it. Kunio's doing. Evil, violent, stupid Kunio._

_Leaping into the orchestra pit, Tamaki trods over a violin, bashes a bass, punches a hole in the drum kit—and grabs the empty air where cymbal-playing Kunio used to sit._

"_Where is she!?" Tamaki vaguely hears himself howl._

_And, falling from the ceiling, with the rain…a single rose…_

Tamaki's eyes shot open from the dream's hazy void, and he bolted into an upright position in his bed, panting with heavy breaths. "Haruhi," he gasped in a strangled whisper.

Disentangling himself from his sheets, Tamaki fell out of his bed and fought through the darkness to his closet, where he yanked out a blindly-chosen outfit of street clothes.

_I can't lose Haruhi. I can't! I let Suzy go to Kunio too easily…_

He yanked open his bedroom door, flew down the stairs, and banged through the front door just as the first drops of the sky's tears leaked.

…_but for Haruhi, I'll fight to keep her in my arms._

Surged with this battle declaration, he sprinted out into the rain, destination clear.

His fingers had been pricked well enough by love's thorns; now it was simply a matter of cleaning it away.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x………………………….**

"Oh, and look at _this _lovely outfit!" beckoned the T.V.

Haruhi looked up to obey, her half-hidden chopsticks shoved in her mouth. A small fragment of noodle dropped onto the table. Her eyes drooped as she saw that the model walking down the walkway was just like the first. Skinny. Smiling. Beautiful. _Perfect. _

"You're too fake," she grumbled to the model, attacking another portion of her large bowl of ramen.

"And that was Yumiko, last year's winner. Still gorgeous even after a set of twins, isn't that wonderful?" The Show Mistress beamed into the camera, her face serene as she looked blankly into Haruhi's eyes.

"No," Haruhi replied. Frowning, she slammed down her bowl onto the table and let out a frustrated sigh.

Watching model competition shows in the middle of the night, shoving microwaved ramen into your mouth was a _very _pathetic way to spend one's time.

Haruhi reached for the remote, when a new model in a flowing red dress stepped onto the stage. A _blonde _model.

The camera snapping back to the Hostess, who showed a surprised expression, she exclaimed, "Oh! And here is Rachel, an exchanged model from Europe, wearing…"

Haruhi stared at the screen as an small-boned young woman strode down the stage, turned, winked at the audience, and made her way back to the curtain.

_Blonde…almost like Tamaki's—_

She scowled, flicking off the T.V. The pretty blonde's face died in the blackness. Sitting back in her chair, Haruhi set boundaries for herself.

_No thoughts about senpai. No thoughts about Kunio. And _especially _no thoughts on what you said to senpai in the closet. It's a thing of the past until further notice, one that both him and I are going to promptly forget. _

A sharp nod of her head, and she rose to her feet. She was halfway to the hallway, when a crash reached her ears.

Her eyes widened; her spine stiffened. "Thunder?" she asked aloud, her voice echoing in the quiet room.

No, the soft pattering of rain against the window; but no other stormy sound.

Another smash of a trash can and a sharp curse. Haruhi sighed, slumping her shoulders a she heard the pattering of feet climaxing up the concrete stairs. _I think I know who…_

There was a hurried knock at the door. Haruhi heard her name, faintly, through the wood, confirming her suspicions. With a heavy sigh, she went to the door, hissing through the cracks, "Senpai, go _away_! It's 12 in the morning!"

"Haruhi, open the door. I demand that I speak with you!"

"Dame! It's too late, and you should be asleep!"

"Haruhi," Tamaki said, his tone grave, "If you do not open this door right at this moment, I will sing…_theme songs._"

"_Nani_?" Haruhi's eyes widened.

"All right, here we go." A deep breath, and he launched. "TSUKI NO KA-ASU, TSUMETA-AI NO—"

"Senpai!" Haruhi cried, flinging open the door. Her angry eyes beheld Tamaki, soaking wet at her doorstep, his blonde hair sagged into dead ringlets against his face. His shoulders escalated and dropped as he gasped deep gusts of air, exhausted from his sprint across town.

He had imagined all that he could say to her. Played it out in his mind, over and over. But then, seeing her puzzled/irritated face and demanding brown orbs, all he could do was stare at her beauty; all that he had taken for granted.

Haruhi's eyebrows raised in expectation. "Senpai…what? Have you looked at the TIME lately?"

"Well, no," he admitted. "But…I need…to tell you something." Closing his eyes, he said, "I'm…sorry."

"You're what?"

"Sorry."

"For singing out-of-key Loveless theme songs at my door in the middle of the night?"** (refer to note above)**

"No, Haruhi, _no!" _Tamaki groaned, waving his arms wildly about in the air. Droplets of water splashed and hung onto Haruhi's white and pink pajamas. "I'm sorry about my horrible, inexcusable, unhostly behaviour towards you!"

"Oh," said Haruhi.

"Although Kunio deserves a thousand deaths that I will one day plague upon him, and your lovely forgiving nature towards him is unjustified, I admit that I was wrong. I lost my tempter too easily, and you have every reason to hate me, and if you want to break up with me, Haruhi, go ahead, just _please _don't go to Kunio and date him because I'd rather…rather lose my uncommonly good looks and go bald of my gorgeous blonde hair than lose you to him, so—"

"Tamaki," Haruhi cut in.

His blue eyes blinked. "Y-Yes?"

"I forgive you, baka," she smiled.

"…you do?" Tamaki's face bloomed into a smile. "Really? Well…that's…" Sighing, he forked back his overgrown blonde bangs and looked to the side. "But…all the things you said to me. Weren't they true?"

Haruhi winced. "I should probably…apologize for that too. I was too harsh."

Tamaki nodded, offering her a crooked smile. "I suppose…we both were."

With a nod, Haruhi smiled. Looking into his shy eyes, unguarded by her gaze, she realized that she barely knew him.

Tamaki decided to end the conversation by grabbing his love into a wet hug. The rain that had soaked him to the skin seeped through the threads of Haruhi's pajamas; and she didn't care. Her smile growing wider, she wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face into his chest.

They stood there, even as sheets of rain were summoned from the sky.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x……………………………..**

**The next day, in the morning…**

Haruhi was greeted by the twins' triumphant smiles in front of her eyes. "Haruhi, we know your secret!" they laughed, pointing dead into her confused gaze.

Her eyes travelled up to Tamaki's. He shrugged. Haruhi frowned at the twins. "What do you mean?"

"We know where you were last night," Kaoru cackled.

Hikaru took the moment to slap Tamaki's arm that was draped over Haruhi's shoulders. "Show some self control. We all know you've made up but you don't have to advertise it."

Tamaki pulled down the skin under his eye in a mocking expression, poking out his tongue. "You have no control over me!" he declared.

"Where I was?" Haruhi asked Kaoru, blinking in confusion.

Hikaru turned to her, smiling. "Yup! At m'lord's house, weren't ya?"

"Well…" Haruhi looked up to Tamaki, who had gone red. "Ano…."

Tamaki acted quickly. "U-Uh….LOOK!" he shrieked, pointing off to the distance, eyes wide. "A DISTRACTION!"

Hikaru and Kaoru's jaws dropped. "Where?!" they shouted simultaneously, spinning on their heels.

Laughing, Haruhi and Tamaki winded around them and made a dash for it. They bumped into Kyoya in their journey. They stared at him in surprise.

"Any particular reason why you _were _at his house, Haruhi?" Kyoya asked with a raised eyebrow. "It's caused quite a commotion. The whole school knows about it."

"The…the…_whole school_?" Tamaki stuttered, his jaw unhinging. Haruhi shrugged, unconcerned.

"It's not THAT bad…"

"On the contrary," optimistic Kyoya assured them, "especially when everyone can take a pretty educated guess what was HAPPENING there."

Haruhi stiffened with shock. "Oh."

"Well…well we couldn't exactly stay at Haruhi's house!" Tamaki hissed, his cheeks now bright red. "Her…her father gets up early!"

Kyoya put a hand to his aching forehead and sighed long and hard. "Whatever will I do about this…?"

"LOOK! THERE THEY ARE!" cried a nearby group of girls. "THE ADORABLE HOMOSEXUAL COUPLE!"

Haruhi and Tamaki exchanged horrified glances. "Fancy a run with me?" Tamaki asked.

"I'd love to."

As you can imagine, Tamaki and Haruhi sprinted away from the fan girls, them close behind, slowly gaining ground with their emotions as their fuel…

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x…………………………….**

**Lunchtime.**

"Haruhi! Haruhi, its empty in here!"

Haruhi swung her neck around the door of the classroom, peeking inside. "It _is!_" she gasped. "Thank Kami…." Sighing, she slumped against the wall of the science lab.

"No one wants to spend their lunch hour in the midst of science," Tamaki told her, turning on the light and sitting down at a nearby table. "Let's get this planning over as soon as possible."

Haruhi opened one eye, frowning. "Planning? Oh, yes…" She sat across from him, her boxed lunch sitting on the desk. "The fair."

"It could be fun," Tamaki said with a hopeful smile. "The hentai twins decided to help."

"Would you stop calling them that?"

"That's what they are!"

"Fine. Fine." Haruhi pushed her lunch across the table to Tamaki's hands. "That's for you."

Tamaki gasped, his eyes going wide. "ME?"

"You demanded that I make a lunch for you, didn't you?" Haruhi frowned.

"Yes! Oh, Haruhi! You're an angel!" Tamaki cried, reaching over the table and smothering her in his arms.

Haruhi sighed and donned an annoyed expression until he let go of her and opened his chopsticks from their package, diving into his lunch. Tears of joy streamed down his cheeks as he ate the clumsily-made onigiri.

Haruhi frowned down at her hands. "Oh…and…"

Tamaki looked up. "Hmm?"

"I talked to Kunio in the hall today. I hope…that's okay."

An eyebrow raised on his brow. "What did you talk about?"

"The usual things. We said hi, and then he asked me if I was finished fighting with you yet. And then we talked about…history class, I think. And that was it." She looked at him with an expecting gaze, not sure what to anticipate.

Tamaki's face bloomed into a grin. He reached over the table and tapped her nose with his chopsticks. "Oh, Haruhi," he chided. "Sometimes you just worry too much about what I think."

Haruhi frowned, opening her mouth in protest; then understood. Relaxing, she returned his smile, nodding. "Perhaps."

Popping a piece of salmon-wrapped sushi into his mouth, Tamaki offered her a squished onigiri, trapped between his wooden chopsticks. "Want?" was all he could say through his food in his mouth.

With a nod and a smile, Haruhi leaned forward on her elbows and took the onigiri from the utensils with her mouth and settled back into her chair with a giggle that she couldn't suppress. Tamaki's eyes widened as a small blush tinted his cheeks.

_Haruhi…giggling!?_

Might as well act cute around your own boyfriend every once in a while.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x…………………………….**

**I decided that Tamaki and Haruhi needed cute moments. –grins- **

**More drama shall happen in the next chapter…-throws back head and cackles madly-**

**Review! It gives you endorphins:D (did I spell that right? Hahaha)**

**-KuroHinote, signing off!**


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